Ok Google: What is Polyamory?
by TsunaidaMay
Summary: polyamory ˌpɒliˈam(ə)ri noun the practice of engaging in multiple relationships with the consent of all the people involved. For some reason, Midoriya Izuku felt the need to Google this. What he did with the answers... He doesn't even quite know himself.
1. Love-struck thoughts

Izuku was sitting in class, barely paying attention to the things their teacher Present Mic was writing on the board. As always, Izuku's mind had wandered off, staring at the back of his childhood friend's head.

Katsuki had his head down and was furiously scribbling down in his notebook to keep up. Even though he might look like a bad student to some, always making trouble and never trying to befriend anyone, Katsuki actually tried really hard to keep his grades up. It was one of the small things that Izuku had noticed over the years that nobody else had.

'Midoriya!' Present Mic's voice spoke up. Being abruptly pulled from his thoughts and having completely missed the question, he still stood up as a habit, only to have his face flush red as he had to stutter 'I-I'm sorry.. I didn't catch the question.'

'I expect all of you to pay attention!' Present Mic's voice boomed across the class as Izuku sat down, his heartbeat going up as he felt embarrassed. Iida answered the question in his stead. He kept his head down as he tried to focus more on his school work, vouching to himself not to look up and get distracted.

Izuku wondered why, of all the places in the class he could've had, he was seated behind Katsuki. He had spent years prior to this always sitting behind him, always only able to look at the back of the blonde's head, and read his emotions from his posture rather than his facial expressions.

When the bell rings Izuku finally dares to look up again. Katsuki flexes his neck, feeling a little sore from sitting hunched over for so long. His shoulder blades ache, so he throws his arms back and stretches, grunting a little as his muscles contract. Izuku catches himself staring.

Katsuki can feel eyes drilling into his back and he glances over, seeing Izuku's big green eyes intently fixated on him. 'What're you staring at?' he barks, making Izuku jump and flush red. 'N-nothing, I was just l-lost in thought! Yeah… t-that's all,' he mutters. Katsuki clicks his tongue and averts his gaze.

The door to the classroom slides open and Midnight enters the classroom, smiling as she starts writing exercises down on the board. Izuku lowers his head again, rubbing the back of his neck. Why is his heart pounding so much from Katsuki simply glancing over at him?

He sighs. He really wishes that he would have a different seat.

* * *

Izuku sighs in contentment as the heat of the hot bath flows through him. Today had been a stressful day during training – Quirk extension would never not be exhausting – and he had managed to end up face first in the dirt on more than one occasion.

Izuku continues to soak until the heat is starting to get to his head and give him a headache. He slowly pulls himself out of the bath, covering his private parts with his towel as he walks over to the showers and sits down.

The cold water of the showerheads were in complete contrast to the hot water of the bath. It made Izuku perk up from the heat-induced slumbering state he had gone in, making him more alert again as the water ran down his back.

He reached out and grabbed the soap, violently rubbing it all over his body to get rid of the dirt and grime that had accumulated over the course of the day. His fingers ran over his right arm, tracing the scars that were permanently inflicted there. He still remembered every single time he had overdone his Quirk and had received more damage. He doesn't regret a single one of those occasions.

The first time to pass the entrance exam. He had to give it his all to be entered into U.A. and he was not going to go home without having received a single point, but because he had only received All Might's Quirk that morning, he was unable to understand how it worked, gravely injuring himself in the process of saving Uraraka.

The second time it was during the sports festival. He doesn't know why, but he felt the need to prove to Todoroki that all of his Quirk was his, and not his father's. The words that All Might had spoken to him echoed in his head: _Meddling in situations that aren't your business; that's what makes you a hero._ Proving his point, he had broken several of his fingers multiple times and shattered his entire forearm.

The third time was at the training camp. He had gone beyond, absolutely Plus Ultra, in his quest to protect Kouta. He slightly regrets that, a tinge of pain pulsing in his heart as he thinks about how that was the reason he was unable to save his Kacchan. If only he hadn't damaged his arms that badly – or at all for that matter – maybe he would've been able to save Katsuki from being abducted.

It isn't the fact that Katsuki got abducted that made him regret using his full power against Muscular, but it's the fact how Katsuki has been behaving after returning to school. He had been quiet and distant, his temper not running out of hand anymore as it used to be. It seemed like Izuku had been the only one to notice this change in behavior, but he didn't have the courage to bring it up.

'Oi, are you actually going to clean yourself or are you just going to sit there?'

Izuku's gaze snaps up, looking into those piercing emerald red eyes of his classmate. His mind had wandered off and his body had stopped moving as his brain had gotten occupied with his endless train of thoughts. 'I-I'm sorry,' Izuku mutters, reaching out for the showerhead and finishing up his bathing routine.

'Idiot will catch a cold like that,' Katsuki mutters under his breath, just soft enough for Izuku hear, but he glances up anyways. Izuku immediately realizes that was a mistake. They haven't been in the dorms for a very long time and it always happened to be that Katsuki and Izuku never bathed at the same time. Now they did, and Izuku realized something very, _very_ prominent.

He had to forcefully restrain himself from looking back at that broad muscled back, those strong arms, those abs he had gained from working out every single night. Heat was rushing to his face – and to other parts of his body – as he noticed that for the first time in years, saw each other naked.

Izuku scrambled to his feet, nearly slipping on the wet tile floor, as he dashed for the changing rooms, praying that nobody else would be there. For once luck was in his favor and he found the changing rooms completely empty.

Izuku dried himself off, as fast as his hands would move, and practically shoved himself into his casual clothes as he made a run for his own room. He crashed down on his bed face first, the pillows and sheets muffling his screaming as he felt his erection throbbing. It was a miracle Katsuki hadn't noticed; at least, Izuku hoped he hadn't noticed. Izuku sighs. Of course Katsuki hadn't noticed. If he had he wouldn't have been lying here right now. He would be dead.

He rolls over, his arm draped across his face as he bites his lip. Izuku has had a crush on Katsuki since… well… forever. He had always admired that courageous act-first-ask-questions-later attitude that Katsuki had put up throughout their entire childhood. He had loved how Katsuki would stand up for him, protecting him from his bullies even though he would hurt himself as well. Izuku would blindly follow him wherever he went, always being able to look past that intimidating aura that Katsuki would give off, and see the soft and protective side Katsuki had within him. Up until middle school.

Izuku didn't know what had changed, but suddenly, everything had. Katsuki went from protecting him to being the one to bully him. The soft side only Izuku could see was slowly fading. The admiration he had was still there, but pushed deep down, overwhelmed by fear of being hurt. Because that's what Katsuki did. He had hurt him.

In those few years their entire dynamic had changed, and so had Izuku's hopes of ever being able to confess to him. Even though Katsuki's behavior towards Izuku had mellowed since they had both entered U.A. High, Izuku was convinced that Katsuki hated him.

Katsuki would avoid Izuku as much as possible, and whenever they would be in the same room Katsuki would only glare at him. It made Izuku feel immensely sad. He had tried so hard to make amends to their friendship, to try to make it go back to the way they used to be, but Katsuki was simply not interested.

Izuku rolled over again, hugging an All Might themed plush to his chest as the butterflies in his stomach were starting to calm down. If Katsuki ever found out about Izuku's true feelings for him… Izuku shivers. He doesn't even want to start to think about that.

'Why?' Izuku blurted out, kicking his legs like a love-sick female protagonist in a romance movie. 'Why did I have to fall in love with _him_?'

Izuku flops over onto his stomach, the pillow pressed under his chin as he pulls out his phone and starts scrolling through the countless Class 1-A group app messages they're sending each other. Katsuki's name pops up and sends another jolt of electricity through Izuku's heart. Izuku smiles a little as he sees that Katsuki is just barking at the rest of the class to shut up. Upon noticing, he presses his face deeper into his pillow.

He puts his phone away and gets to his feet, settling himself behind his desk to prepare some homework for tomorrow. As he's jotting down the answers his mind keeps wandering. His phone keeps buzzing but he decides to ignore it.

As he tries to solve the math equations in his head, his pen keeps flowing across the paper, unconsciously writing down all of Izuku's thoughts. When he turns to write down the actual answer, he sees that a quarter of his page is already filled. When scanning the words he has written down, he gets flustered once again.

 _Maybe I should just tell him how I feel, what's the worst that could happen? He'll probably blow me up… Or hate me. More. Still, I'm always too scared to take chances and this is one of the things I should not ignore… How would it be to date Kacchan? Would he be kind? Possessive? Would he distance himself or be jealous? I really wish I knew how he felt about me but… he's so unreadable at times. How would it feel for him to hold me? Probably really good :) Not that I'll ever feel it…_

Izuku sighs and tears the page from his notebook, slamming his head against his desk as he crumples up the piece of paper in his hand. This was going to be a very long night…


	2. Honesty goes a long way

'So, who of the girls would you date?' Uraraka says as she drops down next to Izuku on the couch in the common room. Heat rises to his cheeks. 'W-what?' he stammers. Uraraka waves her hand around.

'You know, there are six girls in our class which are all pretty cute, and you are all teenage guys, you must like some of us. Right?' she says, looking back at him with a glimmer in her eyes. Izuku tries to avert his gaze, but more of the girls have gathered around and are staring at him, waiting for an answer.

'I.. uhm.. I-I'm not really into any of you…,' he answers honestly, his hands gathered in his lap. Uraraka pouts. 'Are none of us cute enough for your taste?' This makes Izuku's head snap back up. 'No! No! That's not what I meant! It's just.. I'm..' All of the girls raise their eyebrows at him.

'You're what?' Mina says, leaning over the back of the couch to get closer to Izuku. Izuku's mind is reeling as he's trying to form a proper sentence. He didn't intend to come out like this…

'Do you by chance like guys instead?'

Izuku looks up at the voice, meeting Shouto's gaze who's looking at him with curiosity. Izuku's heart skips a beat and if possible, his face would become even more red. He jumps to his feet, frantically waving his hands around.

'N-no! That's not it! I'm just.. I'm too busy with school to pay attention to that! Yeah.. that's it,' he says, muttering the last part more to himself than to anyone else. Shouto looks at him with an amused look on his face, it makes Izuku feel a little uncomfortable.

'I-I'm going to bed!' Izuku says, turning around and dashing off. 'But it's just 8pm!' Uraraka shouts after him, but he's already gone.

Shouto turns around and sits down in one of the chairs at the other end of the room. He crosses his legs, his hand supporting his head as he drifts away into his own thoughts. He wonders if Izuku is one of those kind of people that are attracted to guys instead of girls. The way Izuku behaved when he was asked about it could easily be interpreted as a way to avoid the topic, but Shouto wasn't very good with emotions, so for all he knows it could also have been embarrassment.

Shouto secretly wishes that Izuku was gay. Ever since the sports festival, the bond between Izuku and Shouto had been strengthening and weird feelings had started to stir inside of Shouto's stomach.

Unfamiliar with the feeling of love as well as friendship, he had simply written it off as the excitement for gaining new friends, but the more friendships he started to make, the more he realized that Izuku was the only one he had such feelings for.

He had spent countless hours sitting on the floor in his living room, Fuyumi on the couch behind him playing with his hair, as he told about the weird tingling sensations he felt whenever he saw "a certain person".

Fuyumi had told him that it was love. Shouto thought she had gone crazy. A man loving another man? In Shouto's mind, it couldn't be right, and he was certain his father was going to disapprove, so he let Fuyumi believe that he was crushing on some girl.

She had wanted to know everything about this girl, but as she didn't exist, Shouto had nothing to tell her. He had brushed her off and went back to his own room to recollect his thoughts, failing completely.

Todoroki gets to his feet, ignoring the questions and pouty protests the girls are putting up as he retreats to his room too early as well.

* * *

Shouto is sitting at the end of the big table that class 1-A occupies every single lunch break. In front of him he has his notebook open and is mindlessly writing down notes.

He puts down his pen and picks up his bowl of ramen to slurp down some of the broth as his eyes flicker over to the other end of the table that's filled with the people whose presence is always very noticeable. He can see Izuku having a heavy discussion with Uraraka on some of the rescue techniques they were just taught, with Iida trying to chip in for both of them to settle down and lower their voices.

Shouto catches himself smiling at the sight of Izuku getting worked up over something he's passionate about and it makes some of the broth trickle down his chin. He quickly puts down the bowl and wipes the broth away, noticing that small droplets have fallen onto the notebook he was writing in. He frowns a bit. He has been working hard on his analyses and he's a bit bummed out that it is now stained.

He picks up his pen and starts chewing on the end of it, a habit he only shows when he's really lost in thought. Considering his lack of emotional skills, Shouto has picked up Izuku's habit to write his analyses down, but instead of Quirk analyses it are analyses of his own emotions. He has tried to sort out his own mind, trying to figure out why his body is acting like it is, and after finally accepting that what he's feeling is a crush on this green-haired boy, he's been thinking of ways to ask him out.

Shouto has always been more of the direct approach type of guy; if he feels something or thinks something, he just straight out asks or acts on it without overthinking it. Sometimes it ends up well, sometimes it ends up terrible.

He really wishes that this could've been one of those times where he would just act on his feelings, walk straight over to Izuku, confess and take him out right on the spot, but the feelings of having a crush are so unfamiliar to him that his mind has spent countless hours thinking of what it was and how to act on it, so much to the point that he's unable to even look at Izuku straight anymore without starting to feel flustered inside. Shouto curses himself for that.

'Todoroki?'

Shouto nearly bites the end of his pen off. He carefully puts the pen down and turns to look at Izuku.

'Class is about to start,' he says. Shouto nods. 'I'll be there soon,' he replies.

Izuku smiles at him and Shouto's heart skips a beat. If only he was able to return such a warm smile…

* * *

Shouto is sitting at his desk, hunched over, his hand in his hair and gripping it tightly. He's tapping his pen against the edge, almost driving himself insane. How could it be so hard to figure out how to ask someone out on a date? Shouto sighs. He knew that that wasn't the only problem. By asking Izuku out on a date, several unwanted problems would occur.

Problem one: Coming out. Shouto was convinced that he was straight for a very long time. It's the natural assumption for anyone. He simply thought that he was too busy focusing on his task to become a hero to notice the girls around him that were apparently noticing him. He was proven dead wrong.

Problem two: Assuming sexuality. Shouto didn't know whether Izuku was attracted to guys. Izuku and Uraraka had always been very close and they'd both get flustered in certain situations, but the way Izuku had behaved earlier made him ponder. All Shouto could do was assume that Izuku was gay, which would lead to:

Problem number three: Rejection. Whether based on the fact that Izuku wasn't gay, or that he might be but simply not interested in Shouto, made Shouto's stomach stir and his mind go into overdrive. Shouto had his hopes up, but the fear for rejection was all too real. In the best case, Izuku would accept his proposal, and with that reach the end line, because after that it was:

Problem four: What to do next? He's spent so much time thinking about Izuku, about Izuku's sexuality and his own, about worst and best case scenarios, that his mind is coming to a complete halt when even considering the possibility of going on an actual date. Shouto doesn't know what Izuku would like to do; all he knows is that the boy is crazy about heroes, and that doesn't give him a lot of options for romantic getaways.

Shouto closes his notebook and puts his pen away. He goes to lay out the futon he is used to sleeping on and lays down, closing his eyes but unable to sleep.

After twisting and turning for quite some hours, getting up multiple times to go to the bathroom or getting something to drink, the butterflies in his stomach still won't settle down, so he sits up and crosses his legs as he starts typing on his phone.

 _Shouto: Are you awake [3:29]_

 _Fuyumi: It's really late Shouto, you should sleep [3:30]_

 _Shouto: I can't [3:30]_

 _Fuyumi: Aww, is my little brother love sick? [3:32]_

Shouto feels like slamming his phone down. Messaging her was a bad idea.

 _Fuyumi: I'm sorry. How can I help? [3:34]_

Shouto thinks about that for a while. How could his big sister possibly help him in this situation?

 _Shouto: How do I ask someone out? [3:38]_

Shouto can see her typing and deleting her message, over and over again. He's about to simply put his phone away and try to sleep again as she replies.

 _Fuyumi: You shouldn't overthink it. Just take her outside after class and tell her how you feel. Girls like honesty best [3:47]_

Shouto puts his hand in his hair. Maybe that's what girls like, but do guys appreciate a blunt confession like that?

 _Shouto: I don't know if I can [3:49]_

 _Fuyumi: I'm sure you can do it, little brother. Now, off to sleep! [3:50]_

Fuyumi goes offline, leaving Shouto alone to his thoughts again.

* * *

'Midoriya?' Shouto asks carefully. Izuku looks over his shoulder, his shirt halfway his arms as he was changing back into his school uniform. 'Could I talk with you after class?'

He tries to keep his voice steady, but his heart is pounding and his stomach is fluttering. Izuku smiles. 'Sure, let me just finish changing.' Shouto makes an attempt at smiling back. 'I'll be waiting outside.'

Shouto turns to leave, lingering outside the dressing room as he sees his classmates come out one by one, chatting happily as they make their way back towards the dorms.

After Fuyumi stopped responding he had attempted to sleep, but after deciding that today was the day he was going to do it, none followed. The entire day his mind had been wandering, coming up with all the ways that Izuku could possibly respond.

At last, the door to the dressing room opens and a head full of green curls emerges. 'Sorry I kept you waiting,' he apologizes. 'It's okay,' Shouto assures him and starts to move, leading both of them outside.

'What did you want to talk about?' Izuku asks, a curious glimmer in his eyes. If only Shouto had one ounce of his excitement, then all this would go a lot smoother. 'I wanted to talk about us.'

Izuku cocks his head a little, feeling a little confused. 'What's there to say about us?' They've reached an empty hallway and Shouto stops in his tracks. He turns around, anxious feelings soaring through his veins. Rejection is a possibility. Agreement is a far less probable possibility. Shouto takes a deep breath.

'Midoriya.'

Izuku looks at him, his green eyes sparkling.

'I like you. Please go out with me.'


	3. Gaining a head start

'I like you. Please go out with me.'

Those words are ringing inside Izuku's head as he stares at Shouto. He doesn't know what to say, a love confession the last thing he expected when Shouto said they wanted to talk about them.

'W-what?' Izuku manages to say. His mind is whirring as he tries to keep himself from falling apart. Shouto is looking at him, and by the way he's standing, Izuku couldn't tell that the dual-user was nervous at all. But he was.

'I said I like you and I want you to go out with me,' Shouto repeats. His heart is pounding in his chest, even though he doesn't show. He's looking at Izuku who looks bewildered with his confession and is afraid about the things going inside his head. Does he need to brace himself for a rejection? Is he trying to sort his own feelings out? There's no way for Shouto to tell.

Izuku isn't quite sure what to say, he had never considered dating Shouto as a possibility. For the past few years he only had eyes for Katsuki, but he seemed completely oblivious to Izuku's admiration as well as annoyed with the fact that Izuku was somehow still breathing. Despite that, he wasn't sure if he could give all of that up to date one of his other classmates.

'I'm.. I'm not sure,' Izuku replied. He swears he could see Shouto frown a little. 'You're just.. kind of overwhelming me, I didn't expect you to ask that at all. And I kinda have someone else..'

'You're already in a relationship?' Shouto asks, now frowning for real. Izuku quickly shakes his head. 'No, no! I wish I was,' he mutters. He looks back up at Shouto who is now staring at him quizzically. 'I just have a crush on someone else, but..'

That one single word pulls Shouto's hopes up again.

'He would never be interested in me.'

He. So Izuku was gay. It at least eased some of Shouto's worries. He steps forward and makes the rash decision of taking a hold of Izuku's hands. Izuku flushes red as he stares at Shouto's hands – they were surprisingly divided evenly between hot and cold – and then back at Shouto who is still staring intently at him.

'I don't know who this person is, but it is his mistake for not being interested in you.' Izuku wishes he could cower away. The last thing he needs right now is pity. 'But I am interested in you, Midoriya.' Shouto's voice is soft and so are his dual-colored eyes. Somehow, Izuku is starting to drown in them.

'I know that the feelings of love can be overwhelming and lasting. Even if I'm not that person, please go out with me. I want to show you more of who I am, and I want to know more about you, and hopefully you'll fall in love with me as well, but if not, I'll accept that and we'll go our separate ways.'

Izuku gulps. That was surprisingly sweet for a boy that barely ever showed emotion. He looks away, his hands still trapped between Shouto's, thinking what the right thing is to do. He wants to say no, wants to save all his love for his Kacchan, unconditionally, even though unrequited. But at the same time a stinging feeling in his gut tells him that no matter how long he will wait, Katsuki will never see him in the same way as Izuku does.

Accepting Shouto's offer is a leap of fate that can end in two ways: either he'll fall in love, and they'll both end up happy, or he doesn't, and they'll both end up miserable, having wasted time on a love not meant to be. Still, Izuku's heart has been yearning for a companionship he hasn't been able to get from anyone else so far, and he can't deny that Shouto is gorgeous; not the same as Katsuki, but beautiful in his own way.

'If I go out with you…' Izuku starts. 'We'll just see where it goes. You can choose to quit anytime, no strings attached.'

Izuku looks at the ground, then their hands intertwined, then past Shouto into the hall, somehow secretly hoping for someone to save him from this awkward situation, and then at Shouto himself. His eyes are sparkling in anticipation and with the light of twilight shining on his face through the window he looks almost surreal.

In the back of Izuku's head doubt is still lingering, trying to tell him that he has a chance with Katsuki, he would just have to tell him his feelings and then everything will be okay, but the majority of Izuku's conscience disagrees. He nods once, more to himself than to anyone else. Shouto slightly cocks his head at the sight.

'Alright. I'll go out with you.'

Shouto's heart leaps in his chest at the words. 'For real?' he blurts out. Izuku stares up at him, determination twinkling in his eyes and a smile on his lips. 'For real,' he reassures.

* * *

Izuku was standing in front of his bathroom mirror running his hands through his hair to try to get it in shape. Shouto had told him they'd go out on their next free Sunday, which was today, but had refused to tell where they were going. Still, as this was still a first date, Izuku tried to look his very best.

He had spent a couple of hours discussing with Uraraka on what to wear before deciding on his outfit. He had confided in Uraraka about Shouto's confession and his date, trusting that she wouldn't tell anyone.

The door to his room slammed open, making him jump a foot into the air and his heart pound. He looks around and sees Uraraka walking in, stopping at the entrance of the bathroom and frowning at him. 'Aren't you ready yet?' she pouts.

Izuku huffs as a piece of his hair falls in front of his eyes again; there goes all his wasted effort. 'I was doing my hair,' he replies as he turns back to the mirror, plucking on his green curls again. She sighs before stepping forward and grabbing his hands to pull him away. 'You and I both know that's a wasted effort and you're just trying to stall for time,' she says sweetly.

Izuku is starting to flush red. Fact is, he still isn't quite sure whether agreeing to go on a date with Shouto was a good idea, but he's too far in to back out now.

'What's the worst that could happen?' she coos as she pushes him out of his room and into the hallway. Izuku has a thousand different answers to that.

As she shoves him into the empty elevator she waves and smiles at him as the doors close and the anxious feelings in Izuku's gut become more prominent. Even though his stomach is twisting and he feels slightly nauseous, as soon as he steps out of the elevator and sees Shouto sitting in the common room, all of the feelings disappear. Shouto is emanating a relaxed aura that radiates confidence.

'S-sorry I'm late,' Izuku mutters, making Shouto look up. Shouto gets to his feet and closes the distance between them as he smiles. 'It's okay.'

Izuku takes a deep breath as he looks Shouto over. He's barely ever seen the dual-user in casual attire, and for some reason the sight before him is intriguing. Shouto is wearing plain jeans and sneakers, paired with a white t-shirt and a dark blue jacket. It looks so stylish and yet so simple.

Izuku feels extremely overdressed in his best clothes, even though it almost matches the same casual style as Shouto. He put on a pair of grey pants, a white blouse and a light green jacket, paired with his ever-present red sneakers.

Izuku considered his attire too fancy for the occasion, but felt a rush of happiness when Shouto spoke up. 'You look good.' Izuku looks up at him, smiling back. 'So do you,' he compliments, feeling a tad awkward. Flirting was never a strong point of his.

'Shall we go?' Shouto asks, holding out his hand for Izuku to grab. Izuku's hand is shaking softly as he reaches out, but when Shouto wraps his fingers around it, Izuku feels reassured and the anxious sensations stop overtaking him.

Shouto starts to lead them outside. The walk to the train station is quite long, but as Shouto starts to ask questions about Izuku to break the ice and lift the tension, Izuku happily answers them, asking questions in return and thus resulting in a conversation that made them forget about time.

* * *

'When are you going to tell me where you're taking me?' Izuku asks. 'Never,' Shouto simply replies. Izuku chuckles. 'Then how will I know when we get there?'

Shouto looks aside and does his best way to grin smugly, but somehow it just looks like a very crooked smile on him. Despite that, still adorable, at least to Izuku. 'You will know.'

Izuku pouts a little. It took them quite some time to get to the train station in the first place, then they boarded a train that went all the way to Tokyo, and when they got there they had to switch to yet another line of the subway before they took on another hike. Izuku was starting to get a bit exhausted, and besides that quite hungry considering it was lunch time, even though the day had barely started.

'Is it far?' Izuku said, trying not to sound whiney. 'Almost there,' Shouto reassured and Izuku felt better knowing they were finally getting close. As they walked on the curb Izuku could hear the sounds of excited children from not so far away.

Being completely and utterly unfamiliar with the lay-outs of Tokyo, Izuku had no idea where they were or what there was to do around here. He had to rely on Shouto for directions and for some reason he felt like Shouto was the kind of person to easily get lost.

Shouto tugged on Izuku's hand, making him follow obediently as they rounded the corner, when Izuku finally realized where they were, eyes opening wide in surprise and excitement burbling up in his chest.

'Is that..! No way..!' Izuku tried to start proper sentences but got lost in the enthusiasm as he recognized the giant blue building in front of them. Izuku looked over at Shouto, his eyes glimmering like a child's. Shouto simply nodded, affirming Izuku's suspicions.

'That's the Tokyo Aquarium!' Izuku squealed like a child. It made Shouto's heart warm to see the excited response Izuku was giving, and he was glad that his choice had been right.

Izuku practically dragged Shouto along as they went to buy tickets and went inside. Shouto had the right mind to let go of Izuku's hand before letting him run wild, keeping his eyes on the green-haired boy that went running from tank to tank to admire the fishes with his mouth agape and his eyes as wide as they could be.

After admiring the so-manieth fish in one of the tank, Izuku looked around and saw Shouto standing a little away. He realized then that he hadn't spent any attention on his date in the past thirty minutes and he started to feel a little bad.

Cautiously he made his way back to Shouto who was raising an eyebrow at why Izuku's excitement had disappeared so sudden. 'I'm sorry, I'm not spending any time with you,' Izuku admitted. Shouto smiled. 'That's okay. I like watching you run around. It's adorable.' Izuku flushed red. Again. He should really keep count, in case somebody wanted to bet on it.

'How about we go to eat something?' Shouto proposed. In turn Izuku's stomach growled. He had been so occupied by all the mesmerizing creatures in their tanks that he had completely forgotten that he had been hungry since an hour ago. He scratches his head as he smiles sheepishly. 'Yeah, let's do that.'

Shouto reached his hand out to Izuku again who gladly took it as he led them to the cafeteria. They sat down to eat – Shouto had gotten them some takoyaki and soft drinks – Izuku's mouth half full as he rambled on about facts he knew about marine life, not stopping to think whether Shouto would be interested or not.

Shouto leaned forward on his hand, looking at Izuku as he excitedly gushed about the things he liked. It was an adorable trait that Shouto had fallen for, as well as many others. When Izuku finally managed to finish his last piece of food, they left again, watching the rest of the exhibition.

'Did you know that some fish, very similar to some bird species as well as some mammals, choose one partner they have for life?' Izuku tells Shouto as they stand under a glass tunnel that makes them be surrounded by fish, sharks, turtles and other marine animals. The light that's shining on Izuku's hair makes it look like it's shimmering.

'When it's time, they go to search for a partner, and once they have found them, they won't ever leave. Even if their partner dies, they'll never get a new one. Sounds kinda romantic, doesn't it?' Izuku giggles as he looks at Shouto. Shouto inches closer to Izuku as they stare up at a turtle swimming by, casting a shadow over both of them. 'I hope to have one partner for life too.'

He feels Izuku tense up beside him. 'I'm not saying it's you,' he reassures, 'but once I have found my partner, I don't want them to leave. Ever. That's what love means to me.'

Izuku stares up at him, Shouto staring into the tank. Who knew that this emotionally damaged teen could be so deep and romantic? When they move on and reach the end of the exhibit, Izuku realizes how much his energy-tantrum has tired him out.

They walk out of the building while Izuku shields his eyes off from the setting sun with one hand, the other in front of his mouth as he yawns. 'I think it's a good idea to go back,' Shouto suggests. Izuku looks at him with a half drowsy smile. 'I think so too.'

The way back home seems shorter than the way there, but maybe that's because Izuku fell asleep halfway on the train, leaning against Shouto, who looked down in content and simply hoped that Izuku would stay with him after today.

* * *

Izuku yawned widely as Shouto pulled him closer to keep Izuku steady on his feet. 'Nearly there,' he coaxes. 'Just stay awake a little longer.' Izuku nods, his head hazy as he tries put one foot in front of the other. Today has drained more energy out of him than he expected.

As they enter Heights Alliance again, Shouto thinks it's probably best to take Izuku safely to his bed before leaving him. The elevator ride doesn't take long, since Izuku's room is on the second floor, but to Izuku standing still like that is long enough to nearly fall asleep on Shouto's shoulder.

Shouto gently shakes him as he drags him out of the elevator and towards his room. 'Where's your keycard?' Shouto asks.

Izuku rubs his eyes to rid them off the heaviness for a second as he puts himself back on his feet and reaches in his back pocket to retrieve the keycard from his wallet. The lock to his room beeps before opening and Shouto gently guides Izuku inside.

Shouto turns around to look where he can leave the sleepy teen, Izuku leaning against the wooden door that leads to the hallway.

'It's okay,' Izuku assures. 'I'll be fine from here. Can barely anything go wrong,' he jokes. Shouto smiles. 'Okay, I trust you.' He steps forward, hand on Izuku's chin as he slightly lifts it.

'Midoriya?' Shouto asks. 'Izuku,' he slurs in return. Shouto's eyes open a little in surprise and then soften. 'Izuku, is it okay for me to kiss you?'

Izuku smiles and nods. His mind might not be completely clear anymore, but he is still fully aware of what's going on, and he wants it. Desperately.

Shouto slowly leans forward, one hand on Izuku's chin, the other on the small of his back to support him from falling over as he has propped himself against the door. Their lips meet, soft, gentle, a touch neither of them ever could have imagined.

Shouto is the one to pull away first, not wanting to push too far. He takes Izuku's hand and guides him to his own bed where he immediately crashes. Shouto looks down, smiling as Izuku's chest is going up and down at a steady pace, already having drifted off.

As he leaves, Izuku wakes for a moment, coming to his senses to change into his sleepwear. While he's struggling to take his normal pants off and his sweatpants on, he thinks about the day. He had a great day, it was a lot of fun and being around Shouto like that had felt so natural.

Not having the energy to grab a shirt Izuku wriggles himself between the sheets, pulling them around his shoulders. Yeah, today was a great day, and Izuku was certain he had felt something in his chest that he had never felt before. But if it was love..? He wasn't sure.


	4. Decisions, decisions, all of them wrong

Izuku's eyes flutter open as they were met with the incoming sunlight from outside. He pushes himself upright while rubbing his eyes, bringing a hand to his mouth as he yawns. He looks over at his alarm clock and sees that it was already 6:53.

His alarm usually went off at 6:30 so he could throw in some morning work-out before having to head to class. He supposes he must've forgotten to turn on the alarm last night after his date with Shouto. The thought makes him feel wide awake.

He went on a date with Shouto yesterday. They had spent the entire day together, holding hands, being close to each other, talking about themselves and in the end they… kissed. Butterflies flutter around in Izuku's stomach as he remembers it.

He was extremely drowsy last night as he was guided to his room, but he remembers every single detail about their kiss. How Shouto's lips had been so soft, his actions so gentle and caring, how his mouth had felt both hot and cold at the same time. It was dizzying. Izuku was starting to think it had all been a dream; nobody could have a night that perfect.

Already being too late for his morning work-out and having forgotten to take a bath the previous day, Izuku searches around in his pile of fabrics for a clean towel and heads to the common baths.

The baths were empty. It made sense, considering most of his classmates were either still asleep or already on their own morning routines as well. He quickly dressed down and slipped into the tiled bathroom, welcoming the hot water as he lowered himself into the tub.

The water was very soothing and usually helped get out the strain in his muscles he would get from training. Right now, it was just relaxing to him. The entire room was empty and there was nothing but the sloshing of the water and his own thoughts to pay attention to.

Yesterday hadn't been a dream… right? Shouto had asked him out earlier this week, because Shouto liked him. A whole new wave of feelings washed over him with that thought.

Shouto liked him, and Izuku had sincerely enjoyed their date, but he wasn't sure if he could call it love. He knew what love was, because it's what he felt for Kacchan.

Even though Kacchan was the only person Izuku had ever been interested in up until this point, he knew that what he felt was wholehearted, unconditional love. What he felt for Shouto was different. Not wrong. Just… different.

His stomach jittered as he thought of Shouto again. He had been so kind and thoughtful, taking Izuku to a place that Shouto thought he would truly enjoy. And he had.

Shouto had obviously liked Izuku enough to ask him out, but knowing that his feelings might not be reciprocated, he had kept his distance while also making it a nice date as well. Izuku was sure that if he had given any indication of not wanting the physical affection Shouto was giving him, the boy would've stopped immediately.

Voices poured in from the changing room, indicating that others had come to shower up as well. Only then Izuku realized how long he had been sitting in the bath murmuring to himself, and the skin on his fingers had started to wrinkle.

He scrunched up his nose as he hoisted himself out of the tub and forced himself under a cold shower. As he passed through the changing rooms to his locker, his eyes met a pair of crimson ones, sending shivers down his spine.

His gaze flickered down as he quickly dressed himself and headed back to his room to properly change into his uniform, rushing to the cafeteria to get some breakfast and then head to class for the day.

* * *

'Mido- uh – Izuku?' a voice outside his door came.

Izuku looked up from the magazine he was reading. 'Come in,' he replied. Izuku pushed himself up and crossed his legs as he watched Shouto close the door behind him. Izuku tried to smile warmly at him, though to Shouto it must look like a nervous grin instead.

Shouto sat down at the other end of the bed, looking at Izuku as he smiled himself. 'Did you enjoy yourself yesterday?' Shouto asks, keeping his gaze on Izuku as he talks. Izuku nods fervently. 'Yeah, I did! It was really fun! Thank you.' The tension in Shouto's shoulders disappears.

Shouto's gaze flickers to the hands in his lap. 'Do you… do you remember what we did last night?' Heat rises to Izuku's cheeks. Did Shouto really think he could forget something like that? He looks away too. 'Y-yeah.'

Shouto dares to glance over at him. 'Do you regret it?' Izuku's heart stops as he hears Shouto's timid voice asking that. If he regretted kissing him? How could he ever..! Did Shouto simply assume that because he was so tired that he either forgot about it or didn't give consent? Izuku shakes his head. It was too crazy for him to wrap his mind around. 'No, I don't.'

Shouto feels relieved. He had barely been able to sleep last night because he felt so stupid for kissing him on their first date. He knew about Izuku's situation, knew that his heart most likely belonged to someone else, and yet he pushed the boundaries for his own sake. It made him feel terrible.

'How do you feel about me?' he asked after that. It was a risky question, loaded with so many hidden intentions. Maybe it was too soon to ask such things, maybe Izuku needed more time to figure that out.

Honestly, Izuku wasn't sure. He liked Shouto. That much he was sure of. His eyes wandered over Shouto's body, eyeing him up like he was doing a physical exam and needed to know every single detail. He just hoped he wasn't gawking.

Being in the same room made Izuku's heart race, and he simply couldn't deny that Shouto was _attractive._ Fact was, Izuku had been subconsciously thinking about him all day. Instead of looking at Kacchan through the reflection in the windows, he would look at Shouto behind him, hoping not to get caught. During lunch he chose a spot closer to him so they could talk more about training and homework. He hadn't intended to be so close to Shouto all the time, but his instincts simply wanted him to be.

Still, he didn't have an answer to how he felt about him. He felt attraction and admiration, at the very least. Maybe these tingling feelings in his stomach were the start of a blossoming crush he was unaware of. But he couldn't so easily forget about Kacchan either.

Kacchan had been a constant in his life, ever since they were kids. Shouto was new, and even though Izuku loved new, it was also terrifying. He knew exactly what Kacchan must be thinking when he would lash out again, knew Kacchan's soft spots and irritations. He'd still have to discover all of that with Shouto. And somehow, that was exciting.

Besides that, Kacchan ignored him. Except for the occasional glare, clicking of his tongue and shove during classes, Izuku never interacted with the blonde anymore. Shouto was here, right in front of him, ready to accept him in whatever miserable state he was left in after middle school.

How he felt about Shouto? He couldn't say. But he knew that being with him, made him happy.

'I…,' Izuku starts, unsure of how to say this properly. Saying it wrong might hurt the dual-user, or let him believe things that aren't true. 'I like you,' he answered honestly. Shouto perked up.

'I'm not sure if I like you the way you like me,' Izuku added, 'but I do like you, and..' He was really insecure about saying his thoughts out loud. He didn't want Shouto to take it the wrong way. 'I.. I want to try. Us. I'm not sure if it'll work because..'

'Because you still like that other person,' Shouto finishes his sentence. Izuku pulls his hoodie up to his nose to hide the red flush of embarrassment. Shouto reaches out, taking Izuku's hands in his again.

'It's okay. I understand. It's not something you'd get over in a day.' Izuku looks down at their hands. 'I like you, I really do.'

'And that's enough for me,' Shouto says. Izuku looks up. One look at Shouto's eyes would tell anyone that he's fine with it.

Izuku does like Shouto. A lot. But he also likes Kacchan. He will never have a shot at being with the explosive blonde, though, and even though it pains his heart now, he's sure that this is the right decision. Shouto will give him the love and affection he deserves but that Kacchan would never be able to give him.

Shouto scoots over closer, wrapping an arm around Izuku and pulling him in as Izuku lays his head down on Shouto's shoulder. Somehow, all of this feels right. As he nuzzles closer into their embrace, Izuku's thoughts about Kacchan escape his mind, leaving room for nothing but Shouto.

He doesn't deserve it, but he's glad he has met this boy. Izuku blushes as he thinks about the fact that Shouto now is no longer just his classmate, he's his _boyfriend._

He digs his nose deeper into Shouto's collarbone as the other simply chuckles, hugging him tighter as all that crosses his mind is that he didn't deserve Izuku either.

* * *

Katsuki picks up his pillow and pushes it over his face as he screams in frustration. Why in the goddamn world did Deku have to pay attention to _him!?_

It hadn't gone unnoticed to Katsuki that his childhood friend had spent the entire day hanging around that stupid half 'n half bastard. Usually Deku would sit near him during lunch, but this time he was on the opposite end of the table.

During class he would glance over at the reflection in the windows, hoping to catch Deku staring at him, and usually he did. But today, no matter how long he stared back at the nerd, his gaze wouldn't falter, which meant Deku wasn't looking at him, but at someone else. It annoyed Katsuki intensely.

Deku had spent his entire life chasing after Katsuki, and Katsuki liked that. He liked seeing the little nerd struggle to try to catch up with him, but always failing to do so. Even after they both entered U.A. and Deku had started to grow, much to Katsuki's annoyance, he still always kept chasing after him. It had become a feeling of familiarity to him. For it to stop so abruptly, it was alienating.

Katsuki flopped over to his stomach and pushed his pillow under his chin, his lower lip sticking out. Anyone else would say he was actually _pouting_.

There was a reason Katsuki liked seeing Deku chase after him. It didn't only stroke his ego, but also his heart. Katsuki had a crush on Deku, and quite a big one. He never wanted to admit it – how could someone like him fall in love with such a weak-hearted good-for-nothing idiot after all – but noticing that Deku's attention was now directed elsewhere… it hurt.

He growled as jealous feelings starting burbling in his chest. He had no good reason to be jealous; half 'n half didn't mean anything to his Deku after all. Still, seeing them interact like that, Katsuki had wanted to lurch at them and pull them apart.

He rolled over, blindly grabbing for his phone, as he started to look at the group chat messages. Everybody was always spamming that thing so much that Katsuki had left five times in the past three months, always being put back in immediately after by either the class president or his shitty hair friend.

Ignoring all of the messages sent, he went to check Deku's private profile. Last online 49 minutes ago. Katsuki looked at the time. It was already past nine and the group chat was still buzzing with life, but Deku had of course gone to bed early like the responsible guy he was.

Katsuki heaved a sigh and flicked his phone onto the other end of the bed, not caring whether or not it was charged by morning; he didn't need it during class anyways.

He rolled over, again and again, not feeling comfortable in any position until he just ended up starfishing while looking at the ceiling.

The nagging feeling of Deku getting all friendly with Todoroki was annoying him. What if the idiot ended up chasing that bastard instead? Katsuki had to prevent that at all costs, and he already knew exactly how.


	5. The chapter where Katsuki fucks up

Katsuki was beyond anxious. He hadn't been able to eat all day and every time someone tried talking to him, he simply lashed out.

He tried to rationalize – confessing wasn't such a big deal after all – but the truth was that it _was_ a big deal. He had been up all night considering on how to properly do this, and eventually decided to ask Deku to come with him after class and talk it out.

His explosive behavior had gotten worse by the minute the longer the day dragged on, and the only reason Katsuki wasn't holding back like usual was because he thought that if he just let it out now, he wouldn't screw up later.

The chances of rejection were high and Katsuki knew it. That's exactly why this had to be perfect, or else he would never have a shot at it again.

Katsuki has to admit that their relationship isn't the best, considering he has never shown any sign of interest in Deku at all. He had bullied the guy for years just because he was Quirkless, and now that he was finally catching up to him, Katsuki got scared and made everything even worse by simply ignoring Deku's existence altogether.

Even so, something in the back of his mind still convinced Katsuki that Deku was just going to say yes. Who else did Deku have anyways that would look after him for so long? That'd keep up with him for all these years? They'd been childhood friends since they were barely two years old, nobody could make up for the time they've had.

The sounds of his classmates talking around him as the class came to an end agitated him beyond belief, and he had to physically restrain himself from actually exploding in the middle of the room before everything was ruined.

His teeth ground together as he kept staring at the clock, which seemed to move tantalizingly slow as if to mock him, counting down the seconds until the final bell would ring. As soon as it finally does, Katsuki shoves his seat backwards and puts his supplies into his bag, stalking over to Deku's desk and slams his hands on the wooden surface, making the boy jump.

'K-Kacchan? What's wrong?' Deku asks, looking up at the blonde. 'We need to talk,' Katsuki replies. Deku tilts his head to the side, eyebrows knitted together as he was thinking about what Katsuki could possibly want from him. 'Alright.'

Deku gets up from his seat and puts his notebooks in his bag as well before slinging the bag over his shoulders. 'Will you be okay, Deku?' Uraraka asks him. Katsuki rolls his eyes at the question. Why on Earth would he _not_ be okay?

'Yeah, it's fine,' Deku replies, smiling encouragingly before waving his friends goodbye. Katsuki leads them out of the classroom and into the school corridors, occasionally glancing over his shoulder to see if Deku is still following him.

Deku is constantly glancing around nervously. Katsuki can't really blame him; the last time he asked Deku to come with him Katsuki had provoked him into fighting and, without any indication of what Katsuki wanted from him now, the boy probably thought they'd up in trouble yet again.

After walking for quite a while they reached one of the backdoors leading them outside to a couple of benches. The courtyard was a really nice place to have lunch during the summer, enjoying the sunshine and warmth while looking at all the colorful flowers that were planted around it. Right now it was just a peaceful venue where Katsuki had the chance to tell how he feels.

Katsuki put his bag down on one of the seats, watching Deku from the corner of his eyes until he does the same. He shoves his hands into his pockets, looking away as Deku awkwardly stands in front of him, fumbling with his own fingers.

'What did you want to talk about?' Deku initiates. Katsuki glances up as his face starts burning. Crap, why was this so goddamn hard! Katsuki opens his mouth to talk, but nothing comes out. Doubts are overtaking him, and he's starting to question whether confessing was really the right thing to do. It was a battle between his heart and his pride, and his pride was quickly overtaking him.

'Look,' he starts, having the feeling that he must start talking right now, or he never will. 'It's not like it really matters or anything. I know you hate me–' Deku opens his mouth to say something in return, but Katsuki cuts him off. 'But I like you.'

Deku's mouth snaps shut. Katsuki clicks his tongue and looks away, feeling agitated that the guy is simply standing there, staring at him. As if this isn't embarrassing enough already!

'You… like me?'

Katsuki glances up. Deku is staring at him, looking dumbfounded at the confession. 'Wasn't I fucking clear enough the first time? Yes, I fucking like you, okay!?' Katsuki snaps. Deku looks a bit taken aback at the response. To Katsuki, his violent behavior is almost like a coping mechanism, and once his insecurities start taking over, he simply can't hold back.

Deku shakes his head, as if not believing any of this. 'Why?' he asks. Katsuki raises an eyebrow at him. 'Why are you telling me this now?' Deku continues.

'Because I fucking saw you becoming all friendly with that half 'n half asshole.' Deku looks up at him, confusion in his eyes. 'You got jealous at that?'

Katsuki's eyes open wide in surprise, before narrowing them again into a glare. 'What the fuck does it matter whether I got jealous or not? I'm telling you what I'm feeling right now. Are you accepting that, or not?' Deku tilts his head again. He has no idea what's going anymore. 'Accepting what?'

Katsuki gulps. His stomach is twisting and he feels nauseous. It takes every ounce of determination in him to say the next words. 'Accept to date me.'

Katsuki looks away, a blush tainting his cheeks bright pink as he tries to keep himself together. Stupid love, what was it necessary for anyways? 'I can't.' Katsuki looks up. Deku is staring at his hands, his cheeks pink as well.

'What do you mean you can't?' Katsuki nearly growls. He had expected a rejection, a definite "no" or a "why on Earth would I, I hate you", but not an "I can't". Deku looks vulnerable and timid as he fumbles with the hem of his shirt. The sight of it makes Katsuki's heart nearly bounce in his chest. 'I'm already dating someone.'

'Heh?!' Katsuki storms forward, grabbing the collar of Deku's shirt and pushing him against the bench. 'Who!?' he demands. Deku looks flustered and reaches out at Katsuki's hand, trying to release the grasp he has on him. 'I asked you a fucking question, Deku!'

'T-Todoroki,' Deku stammers. Katsuki releases his grip, making Deku fall to the ground. 'You're dating half 'n half?!' Katsuki was fuming. He knew that if he waited any longer, he was going to miss his chance, but for him to have already lost it? He couldn't accept it. He wouldn't.

Izuku looked up at Katsuki who was looming over him, his face red with anger as sparks were flying from his hands. He pushed himself up and brushed the dirt off his clothes before pursing his lips at Kacchan. 'Yes, I'm dating Todoroki. Do you have a problem with that?'

Kacchan's mouth fell slightly open at the change in attitude. Something in Izuku had snapped after seeing his former best friend get so angry at the fact he was already dating someone; who on Earth was he to get angry at that for!? 'Yes, I have a fucking problem with that!' Katsuki gnarled.

'And why? Because now I can't date you?' Izuku refuses to take any of this bullshit right now. Kacchan had had plenty of chances to confess to him, plenty of opportunities to fix their relationship, but he had taken neither of them. Instead, he had acted as if Izuku didn't exist and continued fueling the thought in Izuku's mind that Kacchan truly hated him.

'I'm fucking better than that piece of shit,' Kacchan argued. Izuku crossed his arms and took a step forward, making Kacchan have to take a step back in turn. 'And who does that decide? You? _I_ think Todoroki is better, and want to know why?'

Kacchan gritted his teeth. Izuku's eyebrows were furrowed as his heart beat faster. He was getting way too worked up over this, but he couldn't just let this wash over him. Kacchan came to him to confess, but it was too late. Even if Izuku still had a crush on Kacchan – and he had – he was with Todoroki now, and he was not going to break the latter boy's heart just because of this.

'Because Todoroki values me for who I am. You like looking down on me, you like to see me vulnerable and to need your help, but Todoroki actually loves to see how much I've grown since the start of this year and he likes me for _who I am_.'

Kacchan's brow furrowed as well in frustration. No matter how he looked at it, Izuku was right. Kacchan had treated him like dirt for years and he did like that pained expression on his face instead of this new, confident one. He grit his teeth, because it was not something he could easily admit liking, especially not in front of Izuku.

Izuku turned on his heel and picked up his bag from the bench where he left it, being done with this conversation. 'Let me tell you this, Kacchan,' he says before leaving for the dorms. 'I like you. I really do, but I thought you hated me, so I never took the chance. Now I've found someone better, and you suddenly show up saying that you like me too. Even if we both like each other, I could never go out with you. Not as you are now. I hope you understand.' With that, Izuku rounds the corner, leaving Kacchan behind.

Katsuki feels defeated. Like he was stabbed in the heart. He tries to deny it, deny everything that Deku has just said, but he can't. Deku is right, and he knows it.

Katsuki could never fool himself into believing Deku would be better off with him when he liked seeing that weak side instead of the new confident one he worked so hard for. No wonder Deku would rather go for someone that _does_ like that new side of him.

Anger is building up inside him as he snatches up his bag and stalks off towards the dorms as well.

* * *

Izuku only has to knock once before Shouto opens the door to his room. Shouto immediately notices Izuku's red face and his tense posture. Izuku glides past him into the room, dropping his bag at the door and sighing in exasperation before plunging himself down on one of the cushions and resting his forehead on the table.

'Is everything okay?' Shouto asks, sitting himself down next to Izuku. Izuku groans. Shouto reaches out and places his hand on Izuku's back, rubbing it soothingly as Izuku tries to cope with the frustration stuck in his body. 'What happened between you and Bakugou?'

Izuku turns his head to the side so he can look at Shouto. 'You'd never believe it.'

Shouto raises an eyebrow at him. 'Then tell me.' Izuku looks away, contemplating whether it's really a good idea to tell his boyfriend that someone else confessed to him. 'He… confessed to me.'

Shouto's movements come to a halt as his eyes widen in surprise, yet he says nothing. 'He came up to me and he said he liked me and if I.. if I was going to accept to date him or something.. I don't know, he was so cryptic!' Izuku sighs and then pushes himself upright before leaning his head on Shouto's shoulder. 'I got mad at him.'

'Why would you get mad at him for confessing?' Shouto asks, genuinely curious. Izuku bites on his lip. He had never mentioned that Kacchan was his long-time crush. He didn't want to hurt Shouto, but by hiding it, everything would just become more complicated. He pushes himself away and turns to look Shouto in the eye.

'Remember that I told you I liked someone else?' Shouto nods. Izuku plays with his fingers again, gaze fixated at the ground. 'It's Kacchan.'

Shouto wasn't surprised. Considering the huge amount of time Izuku and Bakugou had spent in their younger years, it made sense they would have a deeper connection beyond simple friendship. Even if their relationship was unstable, Shouto could easily tell that Izuku's feelings were for Bakugou.

'I still don't understand why you would get mad at him for telling you that,' Shouto says. Izuku looks up at him again, a small blush appearing on his cheeks. 'Well… He was being pretty rude about it, you know?'

'Isn't that Bakugou's usual behavior?'

Izuku frowned. 'I mean, I guess. But that's not the point! I told him I couldn't date him, even if I wanted to..'

'Do you want to?'

Izuku nearly glared at Shouto. 'We'll get to that. Anyways, he got really mad when I told him I was dating you, and he said he was better and.. just…' Izuku made a frustrated sound before burying his face in his hands.

'Can you believe that? He looked so _pleased_ when I got flustered and scared. How was he ever going to think a relationship built on me acting _weak_ would work?'

'He isn't happy with your progress,' Shouto states. 'Exactly! He liked the old version of me, the one he used to bully back in middle school, the one that would scramble away in fear as soon as he approached, but that's not me anymore. I've changed! He just refuses to accept that.'

'And that's why you told him no.'

Izuku looks up at Shouto again. 'Of course I told him no. I'm dating you.'

Shouto raised his eyebrows in surprise. 'But you like him and he likes you.' Izuku stares back at Shouto, confusion in his eyes, not really understanding what Shouto is getting at. 'But I'm dating you.'

A tinge of pleasure settles itself in Shouto's heart at that statement. Even though Izuku's long-time crush had confessed to him, he had still chosen Shouto over Bakugou.

'It's because you like me for who I am, right?' The sentence started as a statement before turning into a question. Shouto reached out and took Izuku's hands in his. 'Of course I do.' Izuku smiled in contentment.

'See, that's the difference between you and him. He only likes me for who I used to be, not who I am now, so that's why I told him that even if I liked him, I could never date him. It just wouldn't work.'

Shouto leans forward, letting go of Izuku's hands and wrapping his arms around Izuku's body, pushing them close together. Izuku feels a bit embarrassed at the sudden intimacy, but relaxes into the embrace anyways, snuggling up into Shouto's collarbone.

'Bakugou lacks respect and the ability to see your potential.'

Izuku hums in agreement. 'I don't think I would've said yes even if he asked before the two of us became a thing. It would just become toxic after a while.'

'Maybe this is a good thing for Bakugou. Maybe it makes him see that he has to change.'

Izuku hopes that Kacchan would be willing to change. Maybe if Kacchan was able to see past who a person used to be and instead see the potential that they have, he can help his significant other grow instead of putting them down.

Izuku really hopes that Kacchan will be able to do that, and even if it's not for him, then for whoever might date Kacchan next.

* * *

Katsuki felt frustrated. He completely screwed that up and the worst part was, Deku was right with everything. He had said that they would never date, not as Katsuki was now. What did that even mean? Did Katsuki need to change? How!?

He threw his head back and groaned in frustration. A personality wasn't something that was changed so easily, and Katsuki didn't even know where to start.

His thoughts are interrupted when someone knocks on the door. Katsuki groans again; he's _so_ not feeling up to talking to anyone right now.

'What!?' he snarls as he opens the door with so much force it nearly slams against the wall behind it. Kirishima is staring at Katsuki, one brow raised in confusion. 'You okay?' he asks.

A little bit of Katsuki's temper fades away but he still doesn't really feel like hanging out with Kirishima. Katsuki sighs. 'I'm fine. What do you want?'

'Is a friend not allowed to check up on his best friend?' Kirishima answers, slipping past Katsuki into his room and plunging down on the blonde's bed. Katsuki has to suppress a growl.

'Look, I appreciate the concern,' he says with heavy sarcasm, 'but I'd rather be alone right now.' Kirishima tilts his head to the side. 'Why?'

Katsuki grits his teeth. 'Because I fucking confessed to the nerd and he rejected me, okay?' he blurts out. Kirishima's eyebrows raise in surprise. 'You like Midoriya?'

Heat rushes to Katsuki's face as he looks away. 'Ah, man, that sucks.'

Katsuki looks up again. Kirishima is staring at the ceiling, grinning at nothing in particular. 'Guess that kinda ruins my plan of confessing to you.'

Now it's Katsuki's turn to raise an eyebrow at him. 'What the fuck are you talking about?' Kirishima whips his head around to look at Katsuki. 'I'm talking about the fact I like you.'

Katsuki feels extremely confused. Kirishima likes him? As in… a romantic way? 'But I guess I don't have a chance if you like him already.' Kirishima grins sheepishly while scratching his head. 'Then I better get going.'

He pushes himself up from Katsuki's bed and starts to head for the door again when something holds on to his wrist. Kirishima looks back, but he can't see Katsuki's eyes cause he's looking down and his hair is in front of it.

Something glistens as it rolls down Katsuki's cheek and Kirishima feels overwhelmed with worry. He reaches out to Katsuki, but he simply slaps Kirishima's hand away before pulling him closer and crashing their lips together.

When they pull back for air, Kirishima looks at him with a pained expression. 'Katsuki?'

As Katsuki looks up, Kirishima can see the tears gathered at the corners of his eyes. To Kirishima, no more needs to be said as he leans in and kisses him gently again, while Katsuki lets it overwhelm him.

* * *

The sun was shining through the curtains onto Katsuki's face. He blinked a couple of times before pushing himself upright and rubbing the dirt out of his eyes. Next to him he hears someone groan.

Panic starts to coarse through Katsuki as his thoughts are slowly recollecting from the night before. He looks aside. His hair is down from lack of styling products, but it's unmistakably Kirishima's bright red color. As his eyes travel down he notices that the red-head is completely naked, and so is he.

The puzzle pieces are slowly falling together in his head, and when everything finally clicks together, there's just one thing going through Katsuki's mind:

'Fuck!'


	6. Mistakes and apologies

Ejiro rolled over, rubbing the dirt out of his eyes as he looked up at Katsuki. The blond was sitting upright, his face covered in his hands and his shoulders hunched. He simply looked miserable. Guilt started to course through Ejiro's body.

He pushed himself upright and stretched out his hand to touch Katsuki, but lingered in mid-air, only to have his arm drop by his side again. Ejiro had never meant to make Katsuki hurt like this; he had wanted to ease his pain and make him feel better, but the way he'd done it, was wrong.

Katsuki had been the first to make a move on him, and Ejiro wishes he couldn't blame himself for what happened after, but fact was, Ejiro had taken advantage of him. He knew what kind of emotional state Katsuki was in at the moment, casting aside his usual stoic façade and showing his true feelings, something the blond had never done before.

It was enough reason for Ejiro to take a step back and leave Katsuki to his own thoughts, to figure out his feelings on his own and not make everything a more complicated mess, but the disappointment he felt himself after practically being rejected on the day he finally found the courage to confess had made him do something so stupid, he wasn't sure he could ever forgive himself.

'Katsuki?' he tested, voice soft and unsure. Katsuki's body jerked at the noise and he glanced at the redhead through his fingers. His eyes were filled with regret after finally realizing what he and Ejiro had done the previous night.

Katsuki threw his head back and sighed deeply. He had no words for any of this. He didn't know how to express to Ejiro that all of this had been a mistake, that he didn't feel the same as Ejiro did for him.

Guilt pooled in his gut as he realized that he would have to brush the redhead off as a one night stand, probably tearing the guy's heart apart. Katsuki didn't want to.

Ejiro brushed the red strands of hair out of his eyes as he looked down at his own hands. How would he ever start on an apology for this? 'Katsuki, I'm so sorry,' he pushed out.

His lower lip was trembling. He just couldn't believe he had fucked up so bad with his best friend. Who knew what would happen with their relationship after this!

Katsuki looked up, noticing that Ejiro was shaking. Tears were gathered at the corners of his eyes and it was easy to see that the whole ordeal was eating the redhead up. Katsuki refrained from clicking his tongue like he usually would, and instead reached out, brushing his friend's tears away. 'It's not your fault,' Katsuki finally replied.

Ejiro looked up at him, shock etched on his face. Of course it was his fault! He had clearly noticed how vulnerable Katsuki was at that moment and he had taken the opportunity to make himself feel good. 'It is my fault! I took advantage of you and I shouldn't have!'

Katsuki was looking away, his cheeks red in embarrassment. 'I was the one that kissed you first, so I'm the one to blame.' Ejiro shook his head and reached forward, cupping Katsuki's face in his hands, forcing the blond to look at him. Heat rushed to Katsuki's face as Ejiro realized what he'd just done, immediately backing away and staring at the hands in his lap instead. What on Earth was wrong with him today!?

'Look, I'm sorry, okay?' Ejiro continued. 'I know you were the one that kissed me first, but I know it was because you were just hurt and wanted _something_. I should have been the better person and left instead of doing this. I'm sorry. It was very unmanly of me.'

Katsuki was looking at Ejiro. He could see how bad the redhead was feeling. Ejiro truly thought that he had taken advantage of Katsuki, and Katsuki knew that there was no way he could change Ejiro's mind about that. Not now, at least.

Katsuki ground his teeth together. He wanted to resolve this. Even though he was extremely bad at apologizing, this was his best friend sitting opposite him, feeling guilty over something that wasn't completely his fault. 'Let's just forget about this, okay?' Ejiro said, making a sad attempt at a smile.

Katsuki wanted to say something. He couldn't just forget about all of this; it had happened, whether they wanted to acknowledge it or not., but before he could respond, Ejiro had already swung his legs over the edge of the bed and turned to put on some clothes, his back towards Katsuki.

Katsuki couldn't read Ejiro's expression anymore and it annoyed him not to know what was going through his head. 'Don't be late for class,' Ejiro said, his voice on the verge of breaking as he scooped up his shoes from the floor and closed the door to Katsuki's room behind him.

Katsuki growled and let himself fall back onto his mattress. He had fucked up _bad,_ that much he knew. If he could ever fix it…. He wasn't sure.

* * *

When Izuku walked into the classroom, he could immediately feel the tensed atmosphere. Katsuki's head was hanging low and he kept his gaze down as Izuku walked past him to his own desk.

Izuku looked around at his other classmates. Iida was discussing something with Yaoyorozu, while most of the other girls were grouped together around Mina's desk, admiring something that was apparently very "cute".

For the most part his classmates were calm and quiet, save for some individuals. Kirishima, Kaminari and Sero were standing in the corner of the classroom, talking loudly as Kaminari burst out laughing at some joke that Izuku didn't catch.

Kirishima looked around as well, his gaze incidentally crossing with Izuku's. A wide grin spread across Kirishima's face as he waved at Izuku. A small blush crept to Izuku's cheeks as he waved back awkwardly. He failed to notice that Kirishima's smile never reached his eyes.

Iida instructed everyone to go back to their seats and prepare for homeroom as Aizawa entered. The room grew silent as everyone listened intently to the instructions for the day. Most of it would just be academic based – English grammar, followed by history and math, eventually finishing up with theoretical rescue – but for their last hour they would also have a special physical training class.

Izuku was more excited for that than any of the other events for the day, but still, being the good student he was, he took out his notebooks and listened intently to all of his teachers while noting everything down for their exams until it was time to change into their training uniforms.

For this exercise they were to wear their PE uniforms, even though to most it was an unfavorable change considering their Quirk management; the standardized uniforms didn't suit anyone's Quirk after all.

While entering gym Gamma, Izuku quickly recognized the colorful cat-like outfits of the pro heroes gathered at the front. 'The Wild Wild Pussycats!' he squeaked. Shouto looked down at him and smiled. The excitement his boyfriend got whenever Pro Heroes were around was adorable.

'Today we will focus more on agility and being able to use every terrain to your advantage,' Aizawa started as everyone had gathered around. 'To help us with this, I have invited these three. You all still remember them from the training camp.'

Tiger, Pixie-bob, Mandalay and Ragdoll waved at them. Despite Ragdoll missing her Quirk, her smile was wider than all the others as she stood aside in her normal clothes.

'Now split up in four groups and get to work!' Aizawa boomed, followed by a 'Yes, sir!' from the entire class.

Shouto reached out for Izuku's hand, intertwining their fingers for a second, and then letting go as not to get noticed by the rest of the class. Izuku looked up and smiled as he followed Shouto.

They stood around and waited for everyone to divide evenly in groups of five, when Izuku noticed that Kirishima and Kacchan had both chosen a different group.

He raised his eyebrow, knowing that the two of them were good friends and usually liked to train together since their Quirks were a good match. It was strange to see them voluntarily separate like this.

Shouto tugged on the sleeve of his uniform, nodding that they had to get moving to follow Tiger for their first training session, and Izuku had to let the questions in his mind go as he had to focus on training. It wasn't like he was responsible for Kirishima's and Kacchan's friendship anyways.

* * *

Katsuki walked down the hallway, a towel draped across his neck, dressed in casual wear as he was making his way towards the common baths. Four days had passed since the… incident.. for lack of better words, and ever since then, everything had become more awkward.

Whenever Katsuki entered the common room, Ejiro would almost instantly leave or ignore his presence. Ejiro was the one to suggest to forget about all of this, but the way he was acting, it was clear to Katsuki that the redhead was struggling.

Things between him and Izuku hadn't improved either. Now knowing that Izuku and Todoroki were dating, it was starting to become more obvious to Katsuki in between classes, during classes and after that they were a thing.

The closeness between them as they were discussing homework assignments during class, the secret steal-away moments that they had in between classes when they slipped into an empty hallway and made out, it was driving Katsuki insane.

He had tried to talk to Izuku, to apologize – he grit his teeth at even the _thought_ of apologizing – for the terrible behavior he showed after Izuku had told him he was already dating. He had no right to become so angry. He wanted to blame the nerves for making him so anxious and on edge, but he knew that making excuses wasn't going to get him anywhere.

Every time he tried to initiate the conversation however, Todoroki would come by and go talk to Izuku instead. It infuriated him, but he had to keep calm; if he made a mess of the common area once more he would be in _big_ trouble.

As he pushed open the door to the changing rooms, he heard someone humming to himself. His eyebrows drew together as he glanced past a set of lockers, noticing Izuku standing there in his sweats and a casual white t-shirt, rubbing the water out of his hair.

Katsuki looked around. Nobody was here except for him and Izuku. This might be his only chance ever to talk this out, and he couldn't let it pass.

As Izuku noticed a pair of footsteps coming closer, he looked around, only to be faced with a pair of crimson eyes staring him down. Heat rushed to his face as he started to become flustered. 'K-Kacchan? I didn't hear you come in.'

'I want to talk,' Katsuki said in turn. Both of Izuku's eyebrows went up in shock; Katsuki never wanted to talk things out before. Katsuki looked away. 'Come to my room in thirty, okay?'

Izuku didn't know what to say. He saw that something was bothering Katsuki, and him still being his friend, he wanted to help, but the request also made him nervous. He hadn't forgotten the turned down confession and the way Katsuki had responded to that, and he was slightly afraid Katsuki had other things on his mind than just talking.

'Look, I was wrong, okay!?' Katsuki says, his teeth ground together. 'I just want to talk to you and say s.. so..' Why was this so goddamn hard!

Izuku's eyebrows shot up in surprise once again as he realized that Katsuki was trying to apologize to him. 'Okay,' he said. Katsuki glanced up at him. 'I'll come to your room.'

Katsuki clicked his tongue. 'Damn right, you are.' Izuku pouted. He had expected a slightly different reaction to giving in to the request, but it was good enough not to have Katsuki shout at him, so he decided to simply comply.

Needless to say, Shouto wasn't thrilled about the meet-up. 'But he was trying to apologize!' Izuku tried to convince him. Shouto raised an eyebrow at him. 'And did he?' Izuku pushed out his lower lip. 'No..'

Shouto sighed as he plucked at Izuku's unruly bush of green hair. It was still damp, but also softer than usual due to the shampoo and conditioner. Izuku liked it when Shouto played with his hair.

'But you're still going?'

Izuku sighed and pushed himself up, only to turn himself around and crash face first into Shouto's chest, inhaling the fresh citrus scent of Shouto's body wash. 'It's been so long since he properly wanted to talk to me. I feel kind of obligated to go..' Izuku replied.

Shouto sighed softly as he started combing out Izuku's hair with his fingers again. Izuku had his arms latched around Shouto, his nose nuzzled in Shouto's collarbone.

'You don't owe him anything, you know that.'

Izuku hummed in agreement. It wasn't Izuku's fault that Katsuki had been too late to confess, or that he wouldn't be a suitable partner to begin with. Neither was it Izuku's fault for the rocky relationship between Katsuki and Kirishima, something that had become more noticeable as time was starting to pass. Shouto was right, Izuku didn't owe him anything, and he was going to make sure the blond knew that.

Izuku reached out for his phone and noticed that it was nearly time to go. He pushed himself up, leaning in for a quick goodbye kiss, as he hoisted himself off his bed and towards the hall.

'I'll go back to my own room,' Shouto says as he starts to get up himself. Izuku looks back and smiles at him. 'You can stay if you want, it won't be long.' Shouto smiles back at him. 'Then I'll be here when you come back.' With that, Izuku leaves.

He doesn't know what he can possibly expect from this conversation, but all he knows is that if needed, he won't hesitate to put his foot down.

* * *

'He should've been here already,' Katsuki growls to himself impatiently. He's pacing around the room, trying to sort out his thoughts, but it's only becoming more of a mess. When he finally hears someone knocking on his door, he almost rips it off its hinges, making Izuku look at him with concern.

Katsuki grinds his teeth as he lets Izuku in and motions for him to sit down on his bed. Izuku crosses his legs as Katsuki sits down on his desk chair, his legs pulled up to his chest.

'I… I'm sorry,' Katsuki says, his voice soft and his gaze down. He wasn't used to apologizing and it felt… wrong. 'I shouldn't have gotten that mad at you.' Izuku is surprised with the honesty in Katsuki's voice. He can't remember the last time he had gotten a sincere apology, if ever.

'You're allowed to date whoever the fuck you want, I was just.. I was mad I was too late.' Katsuki took a deep breath and tried to stop his hands from shaking. 'But you're right, we could never work. I like looking down on you and you don't deserve that.'

Izuku listened intently as Katsuki spoke slowly. It must have taken the blond great effort to admit his feelings like this, even more so than admitting he had a crush on Izuku.

'I want to change that.' Katsuki looked up, gaze meeting with Izuku's. 'Please help me with that.'

Something in Izuku's chest felt weird. Katsuki admitting he needed help? That just couldn't be right. Izuku swallowed. 'H-how? I don't know the first thing about changing who you are as a person..' he admitted.

'What the hell do you mean? You've changed so much since the start of this year. Don't talk crap that you don't know how to change.'

Izuku gulped. In one way, Katsuki was right, his entire behavior had changed from timid to confident, but there was more than one reason for that. He didn't know those reasons, though, so helping Katsuki was an impossible thought to him.

'I.. I don't know how I changed that much,' Izuku said, his gaze flickering down. Katsuki grit his teeth again. He thought that Izuku was the only one going to be able to help with something like this. He wanted to change because of Izuku; he wanted to change _for_ Izuku.

'What happened between you and Kirishima?' Izuku says, trying to change the topic. A surge of pain coursed through Katsuki's heart.

'Something stupid. I've been trying to fix it but.. he's been avoiding me,' Katsuki admits.

Izuku suddenly feels bad for Katsuki, an emotion he never thought he'd have. He can see that Katsuki is truly trying to save his friendships, as well with Kirishima as with him. He's actually making an _effort._

'You're.. really upset with this, aren't you?' Izuku carefully tried. He knew that pointing out the blond's flaws was a sore spot and he didn't want to upset Katsuki.

Katsuki looked away again. 'Yeah, I am. I really fucked up, and I want to make it right.' Izuku could see that it was eating away at him, see that it was bothering him more than anything has ever before. It was one of the only things Izuku had left from their childhood friendship, more knowledge about Katsuki than he had about himself.

Izuku reached out, hand lingering. Physical contact didn't seem the right way to go right now. Instead, he spoke. 'I want to help.'

Katsuki looked up, eyes tired. He had spent so much time thinking of ways on how to fix this, and yet he has come up with nothing so far.

'I don't really know what I'm doing, though,' Izuku admitted, 'but I want to help anyways. I want to _try_.'

Katsuki could see the determination in Izuku. His entire body screamed confidence, something only Katsuki was able to tell after knowing the nerd for so long. Sitting up straight like that, his lips pursed, he knew that Izuku was being honest and really wanted to try.

'I'll listen to you,' Katsuki acknowledges. Even though unspoken, Izuku knows that those words mean something else. Katsuki won't just listen, he _trusts_ Izuku to make the right decisions when helping him to change.

'It won't be easy,' Izuku replies. Katsuki scoffs. 'Has anything in my life ever been?'

Izuku brings up his hand as he starts to count. 'Being born with an awesome Quirk, having middle-class parents that could aid you in your aim to become a hero, friends that would always stick by your side, interest from all the girls..'

Katsuki interrupts him with a frown. 'I get it, I get it!'

Izuku smirks. 'Changing your personality is hard work, it basically means changing who you are,' Izuku explains further. Katsuki doesn't have to think a moment about that. 'We'll just change the bad parts of me.'

Izuku tilts his head to the side. 'What bad parts?' Katsuki rolls his eyes. 'The egoistic parts, the parts where I'm too prideful to admit something… my shouting.' Izuku is surprised at Katsuki's self-consciousness.

Apparently, Katsuki had always noticed his own flaws. It wasn't very hard to notice for any outsider, but Katsuki took great pride in the fact he could deem himself near goddamn perfect. Fact was, he wasn't. He had his own insecurities that he hid by lashing out at others, and he knew it were bad traits.

The fact that Katsuki was acknowledging these things now and wanted to actively change them, it meant a great deal to Izuku and really showed him Katsuki's determination to better himself.

Izuku glanced over at Katsuki's alarm, noticing that it was already becoming late. 'I should go,' he says as he crawled off the bed. Katsuki followed him towards the door.

A weird atmosphere was left in the room, one that could be described as tense, comforting, awkward, relaxed and determined all at once. Honestly, it was a strange night for both of them.

Before leaving, Izuku turned around on his heel and looked at Katsuki. 'I can't promise anything. I will try to help, but I don't really know what I'm doing. I hope you can understand that.'

Katsuki smirked. 'I could tell that the moment you stepped in here.'

Izuku pouted. He hadn't even known what Katsuki was going to ask him before he entered, so there was no way the blond was able to tell that! Still, Izuku tried to remain calm, considering the conversation they just had was considered.. good. They were already starting to get on better terms.

'Then.. guess I'll see you tomorrow?' Izuku said, uncertainty mixed in his voice. 'See you tomorrow,' Katsuki replied.

A fuzzy feeling grew in Izuku's chest. Katsuki wanted his help, wanted him close by, without any ill intentions. Izuku had been afraid that Katsuki was going to try to make a move at him, but Katsuki hadn't done anything of the like. It only proved to Izuku that he was really trying to change, and it made Izuku happy in more ways than he could describe.

* * *

Shouto was lying in Izuku's bed, already under the covers, his arm folded behind his head, propping himself up as he was reading one of the assigned literature books.

As Izuku entered his room, Shouto watched in amusement as the boy dragged himself out of his casual wear and into his sleeping attire, which was surprisingly not much different from his casual clothes, except his sweats were shorter and his shirt said "sleeping shirt" instead.

Izuku pushed the covers back and laid down next to Shouto, who laid his book down on Izuku's nightstand, turning to cradle Izuku in his arms. Izuku felt so much more safe when he was buried in Shouto's chest, and he couldn't believe that he nearly turned away from all of this.

His love for the dual-user had been growing by the day, and even though they had only been dating for a little over a week, Izuku knew that he would be heartbroken if all of this ended now.

Instead of thinking about the negative things, Izuku simply nuzzled closer to Shouto who had his arms tightly wrapped around Izuku. Izuku could hear Shouto's heartbeat and it was comforting. He wished he could stay like that forever.

'Izu?' Shouto whispered against his ear. Izuku hummed. 'I love you.'

Izuku's cheeks started to heat up and he buried his face even further into Shouto's chest, hiding his face in embarrassment. He knew he had no obligation to say it back, Shouto knew what his situation with Katsuki was after all, but somehow, it didn't seem to matter to him anymore. All that mattered was the two of them there.

Izuku couldn't stop himself and didn't want to as he whispered the same words back. 'I love you too.'

* * *

 **Hi guys, just wanted to say that you can reach me on Twitter if you want to talk or something! My name is the same as here, so TsunaidaMay! Hope to talk to you ^^**


	7. A change of pace

Katsuki was eyeing Izuku with suspicion as the boy was hauling something large into his room. He looked idiotic, almost hilarious to some extent, as Izuku dragged a huge white easel into the middle of the room. On top of it was a huge yellow notepad.

Katsuki raised an eyebrow as Izuku placed his hands on his hips and smiled at his own achievement. Katsuki was already starting to regret asking Izuku for help, but, at the same time, it was kind of adorable of how pleased the idiot looked.

From the pocket of his sweats Izuku pulled a black marker and, standing on the tips of his toes, he reached up to start writing on the paper. The sound of the marker against the paper was aggravating Katsuki and he grit his teeth to endure it.

After what seemed like a frustratingly long time, Izuku finally put the marker down and turned around, beaming as Katsuki read the words written.

'How to be a better Kacchan?' Katsuki huffed.

'Well, that's what we're here for, aren't we?' Izuku asked, his voice light as he sat down on the desk chair. 'You wanted my help, so here I am.' Katsuki rolled his eyes. This was not even remotely close to what he imagined when he asked for help trying to change his personality. What he did expect… he didn't know.

'So, what's your plan?' Katsuki asked, grinning a little. Izuku's eyes travelled across the room, unconsciously avoiding Katsuki's gaze.

'Well, I'm not a licensed professional or anything-' he started.

'Easy to tell,' Katsuki joked. Izuku shot him a nasty glare before continuing.

'But I thought it'd work best to talk things over. That way we can discover what we need to work on and it'll be easier for both of us.'

Izuku had been giving this a lot of thought. fact was, it was really hard to just _change_ someone's personality like that. Though begrudgingly, Shouto had eventually offered to help him because Izuku had simply refused to go to bed before he had come up with an answer, eventually giving him the idea to talk to Katsuki like this and fix his flaws one by one, so they could finally go to bed at two in the morning.

Izuku got back to his feet again. 'What do you consider your worst qualities?' he asked, facing the notepad again. Katsuki smirked. 'Nothing, I'm fucking perfect.'

Izuku whipped his head around and actually glared at him, making Katsuki's expression soften. 'Fine. Pride, I guess?'

Izuku turned to write it down. Katsuki leaned back on his bed, propped up on his elbows as he watched Izuku work. 'What else?' Izuku muttered, not looking back, his speech a bit weird from holding the marker cap between his lips.

'People say I have an ego.'

Izuku snickered, taking the cap out of his mouth. 'You do.'

Katsuki huffed and rolled his eyes, but didn't object.

'Anything else?' Izuku pushed.

Katsuki threw his head back and let himself fall back on the covers, staring at the ceiling. 'The hell should I know? I'm the worst when it comes to self-reflection, you know that.'

Izuku brought the marker back to his face, softly chewing on the cap that was stuck on the end of it as he was thinking. To be honest, Katsuki had a lot of problems. His ego and pride were the worst, that was true, but just changing those would not guarantee the wanted result.

'You know me better than I do, figure something out,' Katsuki spoke up. Izuku bit down in frustration, leaving a huge dent in the plastic cap. This was a team effort; if Katsuki wanted to change, then he would have to put in effort, not leave everything to him!

Still, there was some truth to Katsuki's words. They had been friends since a very young age and Izuku was observant, even as a child. He probably did know Katsuki better than himself. It's probably the reason Katsuki asked for his help in the first place.

'Fine,' Izuku said, 'but then I'm adding this.' As Izuku turned to write down some more things for Katsuki to work on, Katsuki got curious and pushed himself upright as he watched Izuku work tediously.

When Izuku was done writing, he stepped away, making room for Katsuki to see what other points Izuku thought he would have to change for Katsuki to become a likeable person. A person Izuku would consider dating.

'Voice control, body language and respect?' Katsuki questioned.

Izuku nodded. 'They're not necessarily bad things,' he said while looking over at his list, 'but they could use improvement.'

Katsuki pushed himself to his feet and stared over Izuku's shoulder at the notepad. The closeness made Izuku a bit nervous.

'And if I change all of this, I would be a person you'd date?' Katsuki asked.

Izuku's heart started pounding a little faster as heat rushes to his face. He had momentarily forgotten that this was Katsuki's initial goal. Izuku cleared his throat and turned around, putting some distance between the two of them. 'You'd be a better person than you are now,' Izuku replied, trying to be vague about it; he didn't want to give Katsuki any false hope.

'That's not what I asked,' Katsuki growled.

Izuku's eyes turned to the ground. 'I'm already dating someone, so even if you changed all of that, it would not make me date you.'

Katsuki shoved his hands in his pockets and looked away. 'I know that. It's not what I asked. I didn't ask if you would date me if I changed it, I asked if I would be a _person_ you would date.' Izuku didn't really have an answer to that. He didn't know how Katsuki was going to be with less of an ego and more respect towards others.

In Izuku's mind, it sounded wonderful though. All he had wanted was for Katsuki to admit his faults and work on them; before that would've been enough for Izuku to go head over heels and decide to be with the blond. But now he has Shouto.

The answer to the question was, no matter how you looked at it, yes. If Katsuki changed, he would be a person Izuku would date. If Katsuki could really change was a whole different matter.

With a soft blush on his cheeks, Izuku replied. 'Yes. You would be a person I would date.'

Katsuki only felt slightly content with the answer. He had wanted Izuku to acknowledge him and his feelings, but Katsuki knew that was wrong. Izuku was already dating someone else and he had to accept that. That was also part of the process of becoming a better version of him. 'Then I'll become that person,' Katsuki said nonchalantly.

Izuku started to blush even more, getting flustered at the response. 'It's not that easy!'

Katsuki smirked. 'I never said it was, but you know me. I never give up that easy.'

Izuku gulped. How can someone look so great when bearing such a huge ego? Or was this considered confidence…

'Now what, Deku-sensei?' Katsuki said, snickering. Izuku pouted. He didn't like that nickname at all. 'Don't call me that!' Katsuki seemed very pleased with Izuku's reaction. It made Izuku pout even more, before huffing and simply ignoring the blond.

'What's most important is that you know what you're doing is wrong. If you're conscious of that, then you can try to change your actions as you perform them.' Katsuki looked at him with confusion, not entirely grasping what Izuku was getting at.

Izuku sat back down on the desk chair. 'For example: If you feel like screaming at someone, just think if it's a good idea to do so. If it's not, try to adjust yourself.'

Katsuki rolled his eyes. 'It's always a good idea to yell at people.'

Izuku crossed his arms. 'You're not taking this serious.' Katsuki grit his teeth, before sighing and giving in. 'I am trying. It's just a crazy thought. I've always been like this.'

Izuku brought the marker back to his lips and softly chewed on the cap, pondering. 'I don't think anyone really minds your explosive behavior, to be honest,' Izuku said, just spewing out his thoughts as they popped into his head. 'It's just that you're too stubborn to admit your faults so you can't grow. You always look down on people, even though looking up to them or at least seeing them as _equal_ could get you so much further.'

Katsuki mulled this for a moment over. Ever since his Quirk first emerged back in kindergarten, he had considered himself superior. After all, his Quirk was really cool and powerful; how could anyone ever match that? He had been carrying that attitude his whole life and others only encouraged him to think like that. It wasn't until he entered U.A. that anybody challenged him. He had never considered that he would find people he would look up to, except for All Might, and finding an equal was an even crazier thought.

Looking back on it, Izuku was right. Almost his entire class was full of people as strong as him;, that shared the same amount of determination and the same goal. He was stupid for never having realized that before. 'I just have to stop looking down on people?'

It seemed alien to Katsuki, but it also made sense. It would change so much for him. But Izuku shook his head. 'I mean, yeah, you do, but that's not all. I guess it's a good start, though?' Izuku shrugged. He was just pretending to know what he was doing and hoping it would benefit Katsuki's change of character.

'How about this,' Izuku asked, pulling Katsuki's attention back to him. 'This week you're going to actually _talk_ to our classmates.' Katsuki raised an eyebrow at him. 'Where is that going to get me?'

'That way you'll see that they're the same as you. Maybe it'll help you consider them as equals. I don't know... I'm just trying,' Izuku admitted while scratching his head.

'Alright.'

Izuku looked up in surprise. 'Really?'

Katsuki had to physically restrain himself from rolling his eyes. 'That's what I'm saying, isn't it? I'll try.' Izuku's face turned into a wide smile, nearly blinding Katsuki.

'I'm so proud of you!' Izuku squealed.

'Yeah, yeah,' Katsuki tried to wave him off. 'Shouldn't you go to your boyfriend?'

Heat rose to Izuku's cheeks yet again. 'I thought you hated me dating him.' Katsuki looked at the ceiling again as he spoke.

'I never said that.'

Izuku stood to his feet, looking around as if he was forgetting something when he didn't bring anything besides the gigantic notepad to begin with. 'You're right, though. He's probably waiting for me.'

Katsuki clicked his tongue. 'Too much information.' Izuku stuck out his tongue in response. Katsuki's heart leapt in his chest. How could a nerd be so damn cute?

As Izuku started to move towards the door, something occurred to Katsuki. 'You're forgetting your stupid notepad!' Katsuki yelled after him, but Izuku had already closed the door behind him. Katsuki looked at the giant thing occupying half of his room and sighed. Good enough reason to skip his work-out for today.

He pulled his legs in so he was curled up on the bed, reaching out for his phone. His fingers quickly glided across the screen as he typed a message that he should've sent way earlier.

 _To Kirishima: We need to talk._

* * *

When Izuku got to Shouto's room, he could already feel the other boy's intense gaze.

'I'm sorry, it took longer than expected,' Izuku apologized as he took off his slippers, ready to slip into bed and just pass out.

As he placed the last slipper down, he felt a hot breath against his ear. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up straight as a chill ran through his body. Shouto wrapped his arms around Izuku's waist and pulled their bodies closer together, his lips pressing down firmly on Izuku's collarbone.

'Are you okay?' Izuku said sheepishly as he looked back at his boyfriend. When Shouto looked up, there was a certain neediness visible in his eyes. Izuku gulped.

'I missed you,' Shouto murmured, redirecting his lips to meet Izuku's.

Izuku's eyes fluttered closed as he indulged in the touch. 'I'm sorry,' Izuku murmured as they pulled back for breath. Shouto released Izuku's waist and took ahold of his wrist instead, guiding them both to the bed. As Shouto settled himself against the headboard he pulled Izuku to position him comfortably on Shouto's lap. Izuku's face burned; this was a position they had never been in before.

Before having a chance to think about it, Shouto reaches out and dug his fingers into Izuku's unruly green curls, pulling him closer and linking their lips together. The kiss was wet and sloppy and… needy.

Izuku parted his lips as Shouto licked inside, making Izuku moan softly. Apparently liking this reaction from his lover, Shouto became greedier, his tongue making circles in Izuku's mouth as the other boy attempted but couldn't suppress his tremors.

Eventually, Izuku pulled back, gasping for air; his heart pounding in his chest. They had been taking it so slow the past two weeks that he hadn't expected to get to this point yet so soon. He didn't mind, though.

As soon as he caught his breath, Izuku went in for another kiss, his arms latched around Shouto's neck. Shouto tried to contain himself but a fire had lit inside his heart and he couldn't hold back.

His hands started to travel across Izuku's body, softly squeezing his biceps, exploring the curves of his hips. When they broke away again, Shouto leaned forward, his teeth softly scraping against Izuku's ear, earning him a sound so wonderful that he didn't think he ever deserved to hear it again.

Izuku's hands moved on their own as he explored all the wonders of Shouto's body as well, placing kisses and hickeys along his neck and collarbone as he moved.

Shouto's hands slipped underneath Izuku's shirt, following the curve of his stomach muscles. Shouto never saw Izuku as the kind of person to have abs, but this certainly proved him wrong.

As his hands traveled upwards, Izuku shivered underneath the touch. Izuku leaned in for another kiss, drowning in the sensation, while Shouto rubbed his thumb over the other boy's nipple. Izuku moaned so loud he immediately pulled back, flustered from his own reaction.

'It's okay,' Shouto said while smiling, reaching forward to pull Izuku back in again. All of this was foreign to Izuku and it scared him to discover this side of him.

Shouto's hands traveled underneath Izuku's shirt again, this time purposefully trying to get a reaction out of him. The sound Izuku made as Shouto softly pinched his nipple riled him up.

Izuku buried his face in Shouto's shoulder to muffle all the embarrassing noises he was making. Against his thigh he could feel something growing.

He looked up at Shouto whose face also burned with both embarrassment and lust. Seeing Shouto like that, Izuku's insides stirred and his cock started to grow as well. Despite both of them obviously feeling each other's erections and being slightly embarrassed by it, they didn't pull back or hesitate as they continued locking their lips together.

Izuku shifted a little, his cock grinding against Shouto's as he tried to position himself more comfortably on Shouto's lap. The friction against his erection made Shouto moan so loudly that it made Izuku grin widely as he went to kiss Shouto again.

Liking the sound Shouto made, Izuku started rolling his hips, sending jolts of pleasure throughout his own body as well. He set a steady pace of grinding against Shouto as he looked at him through half-lidded eyes, his own arousal nearly getting the better of him.

'Let's stop,' Shouto muttered against Izuku's ear, panting heavily. Izuku nodded, having grown tired as well. He wasn't used to this kind of activity and it was quickly becoming too much for both of them. It was their first time doing this after all.

He climbed off of Shouto's lap, settling down next to him as they crawled under the covers. Izuku nuzzled close to Shouto's chest, the adrenaline of all of this still soaring through his body.

Even though they both closed their eyes, their hearts were still pounding so hard that neither of them could actually fall asleep. Izuku grinned. Only two weeks and they had already gotten to second base. It made Izuku feel good and secretly he was craving more. Just two weeks to get this far…

Izuku grinned mischievously. He wondered what he'd get after a month.


	8. A date and a talk

Izuku buried himself a little deeper into his jacket. The fall weather had hit hard, making the temperatures drop suddenly as a cold wind blew past them. He had been looking forward to this day so much and had hoped for warmer weather, but they'd have to make do.

A full day off as a U.A. student was considered rare, because most of the time everyone would either be training or catching up on homework, leaving them with only a few hours on the weekends to do things for themselves.

Izuku and Shouto had been working very hard last night on their homework to get it all done so they would have the next day completely free. They had barely managed, already nearly falling asleep as they still had a long way to go, but eventually they finished it all and were now on their date.

Planning a date that they'd both enjoy proved to be harder than expected. Shouto didn't really have many personal interests – Izuku was trying to help him grow in that aspect, but it was a work in progress – and Izuku had too many.

Shouto had proposed to go hiking, but after Izuku's rigorous training schedule of the past week, he hadn't really felt like doing anything that required too much physical movement. Izuku had proposed to go to the nearby zoo, but Shouto had pointed out that they'd already gone to the aquarium three weeks ago, and Izuku agreed that going to two animal-related things would be too much.

Eventually, after pondering over it while lying in each other's arms, Izuku softly muttering to himself as Shouto combed out his hair, they had agreed to keep the day casual. They had decided on going to downtown Tokyo to simply do some shopping, and after that they'd simply see where the day took them.

Izuku scooted a little closer to Shouto, pressing himself against his left side and using it as his own personal heater. Shouto squeezed Izuku's hand softly and Izuku looked up, smiling at his boyfriend.

'Where should we go next?' Shouto asked, looking around at the stores.

They wound through the crowd, both having severely underestimated how busy the prefect would be on a normal Sunday afternoon. Izuku held tightly onto Shouto's hand as he led them to a calmer part of the street.

Izuku looked around, trying to find something worth going to. 'I didn't really have any specific plans,' he admitted.

'Then let's go there,' Shouto said as he pointed across the street. It was a small building and even from this far, wooden bookshelves stacked high could be seen, the shelves filled with a colorful array of manga and games.

'Sure,' Izuku replied, this time leading them forward.

Upon entering the store Izuku let go of Shouto's hand, going around to look at some manga for himself as Shouto browsed on his own.

Even though Izuku would never openly admit it, he actually liked to read some romantic stories from time to time. The storylines had always intrigued him, even when he was young.

It was always very cliché, though. Almost every romance novel had the exact same plot, but even though that was true, Izuku indulged in them.

He had often envisioned himself as the beautiful girl being caught up in whatever trouble the artist could come up with this time, always being saved by the strong, handsome guy.

Izuku picked up one of the manga that caught his attention. On the cover was indeed a very pretty girl with long brown hair and blue eyes, staring up at a prince with spiky blond hair.

Izuku gulped as he felt his face start to turn red. He quickly put the book back. He didn't need more reminders of Katsuki at this point. He had already spent too much time with Katsuki lately, much to Shouto's annoyance.

Shouto tried to be open-minded about it, and he knew that Izuku would never cheat on him or leave him for someone else that treated him that bad, but still it stung a little. The only reason he hadn't said anything about it was because he could see how happy it was making Izuku and that was more than enough.

As Izuku had had more counselling sessions with Katsuki, they had started to work harder and more seriously on the issues at hand and Izuku was quite proud of the improvement Katsuki was making. He was actually talking more to his other classmates and seemed to enjoy it. The screaming had become significantly less and it just felt… different.

Katsuki had already changed so much in just one week; it was almost surreal. Izuku couldn't really question it, though: Katsuki was good at everything, why would changing his personality be any different?

The only downside was that with every session, Izuku's mind became exponentially more of a mess. He was very proud of Katsuki's improvement, but besides that, a lot of other feelings lingered.

Izuku tried to push them down; they didn't matter anymore. They were no match for his feelings towards Shouto, so he simply ignored them altogether.

'Found something?' Shouto asked as he came up behind Izuku and rested his chin on Izuku's shoulder. Izuku jumped a little, startled by the sudden touch.

'Not really,' he said as he looked back with a smile. 'Did you?'

Shouto nodded, moving to stand next to Izuku and holding up an array of videogames and different genres of manga. Izuku smirked. 'Do you even have anything to play those on?'

Shouto looked down at his games, then back at Izuku, then around at the store. He seemed like a lost child who was just told that he could only have one game and had to choose, but couldn't decide.

'Let me help,' Izuku said as he reached out, taking all the items from Shouto and putting them in a basket. After deciding on buying a handheld device and putting away all the games not compatible with it, Izuku decided to go back for the manga he picked up earlier.

He went to pay for it as Shouto waited outside, shoving it in an inside pocket of his jacket. He wasn't quite sure why he didn't want Shouto to know about his love for romantic manga, but he just didn't.

They went on to browse a couple more tiny shops filled with all kind of trinkets. There was a store full of figurines and everything anime- and manga-related, ranging from normal to fluffy to actual lewd. It made both of them very embarrassed, Izuku more visibly than Shouto. They didn't linger around that store for long.

After having walked for a while, Izuku's stomach started to growl. He went to check his phone, seeing that it was already nearly six pm. Time went by so fast that they hadn't even noticed that it was already getting this late. 'Maybe we should go and eat something,' Izuku proposed.

Shouto nodded. 'Where do you want to go?' Izuku looked around again, but there wasn't really anything within sight that he recognized, and nothing seemed that appetizing to him either.

'Let's walk a little further.'

Their hands intertwined again as they made their way farther down the road, eventually ending up in a different district that was filled with restaurants and food stalls. The sun was already starting to set and the lights illuminating the street were enticing.

As they walked past a couple of the restaurants, Izuku suddenly halted, his eyes opened wide in glee, glimmering as he looked through the window. Shouto didn't have to think for a second as he opened the door for him and they requested a table for two.

It was a traditional ramen restaurant decorated in the traditional style. The bar and tables were made from a dark wood and the walls were lined with red. The lanterns shining inside gave for a calm, private atmosphere that put both of them at ease.

Izuku didn't have to think long about what ramen he wanted and decided on one with teriyaki fried chicken and miso stock. Shouto ordered for them both.

Even though the restaurant was filled with people, it felt as if it was just the two of them. The soft red light was illuminating their faces as they were seated at a table next to the huge windows. They could see the people walking by, but their focus was on each other.

While sipping on their drinks they talked. They talked about all the things they usually didn't have time for. All the topics they felt too awkward to tackle before. How they felt about being in a gay relationship, about their youths and their parents, their loves and hates, and all the things they had to go through before reaching this point.

Izuku felt bad that he had to leave out some details about One for All, but it was necessary. Shouto held back about his home situation as well, and Izuku knew it, but didn't bother to pry further. He would wait patiently if Shouto ever felt comfortable enough to tell him, and if not, he would accept that.

It only seemed five minutes before their bowls were put in front of them, and even as they started to chew and slurp on their noodles, they didn't stop looking at each other. Somehow the entire situation felt so… natural.

It was a feeling they had never experienced before in the three weeks they'd been together, but Izuku truly enjoyed it and hoped that many more moments like this were to come.

Shouto reached out, stealing a piece of Izuku's chicken and quickly putting it in his mouth as he smiled mischievously. Izuku pouted before reaching out as well and taking a piece of Shouto's pork, popping it in his mouth with a triumphant smirk, but immediately regretting it.

Heat slowly spread on his tongue and inner cheeks as he reached out for his drink, gulping it down as Shouto chuckled. 'I took the spicy bowl, remember?' Shouto helpfully pointed out. Izuku fanned his mouth as tears were stinging his eyes. 'I forgot,' he replied, smiling weakly.

The heat, however, gave him a flashback to his younger days. Katsuki liked spicy foods nearly as much as he liked showing off his Quirk, which was a lot, and he had often shared his bento with Izuku, just to mess with him.

Katsuki had found it absolutely hilarious to feed the smaller boy a piece of his omelet that was drenched in tabasco, only to see Izuku's face redden as he tried to make it burn less.

Izuku looked down at his bowl, blinked a couple of times, and then looked back up at Shouto. Thinking of Katsuki in a situation like this felt wrong. He blamed the fluttery feelings in his stomach on the spicy pork colliding with the sweet chicken. It was nothing else. It couldn't be.

The conversation resumed as if nothing had happened, and to Shouto, nothing had. Izuku was left with a pit in his stomach, but he tried to shake the feeling off. He would only have so much time with Shouto today and he wanted to savor every single moment.

'I'm so full,' Izuku whined as they made their way out of the restaurant. 'You didn't have to finish the whole thing,' Shouto chuckled, his arm wrapped around Izuku's waist, pulling him closer.

'But it was just so _good_ ,' Izuku pouted.

The streets were now almost empty as they made their way back to the train station and make their way back home. Izuku's stomach hurt a little from eating too much, but he didn't mind. All of the pain was however momentarily forgotten as Izuku spotted a huge neon-flashing sign on the other side of the street.

He pulled away from Shouto, who looked at him in confusion. Izuku turned around, beaming. 'Let's go there!' he said enthusiastically. Shouto raised an eyebrow at him. 'An arcade?'

Izuku nodded frantically. 'I haven't been to one in ages, and it's really fun! It should be almost empty by now, though. It's kinda late.' Shouto looked at his phone. Itwas indeed getting really late.

'We do have a curfew,' he reminded the other boy. Izuku looked around back at the huge flashing arcade sign, and then at his phone. 'Yeah, I guess we'd better make our way back,' he said as he walked back over to Shouto, reaching out for his hand.

'We'll go next time, okay?' Shouto said, leaning down to press a kiss on Izuku's lips. Izuku's cheeks burned. 'Okay,' he replied content.

The ride home was over faster than they wanted to. When they returned to their dorms Izuku didn't want to part with Shouto, but Shouto said he was exhausted and actually wanted to spend some time alone.

Izuku smiled sadly, but understood. Shouto still wasn't used to so much social interaction and activities, it must be pretty tiring.

Izuku yawned as he found his way to the second floor and onto his own bed. His stomach felt like it was going to burst, but he didn't care as he rolled over and squished his pillow between his arms.

It had really been an enjoyable day and he wished they could soon have a day like this again. Maybe come home a little earlier, though…

Izuku squished his face into his pillow. It had been a really great day, but there was only one problem, and he didn't know how to handle it. Even though he tried to deny it, Katsuki had always been on the back of his mind. It was frustrating.

He whipped out his phone, and opened Google, asking maybe the most stupid question anyone in the entirety of humanity has ever asked:

 _Google, why am I in love with my best friend?_

* * *

It had taken Ejiro three days before he replied to Katsuki. With every passing minute he was left on read, Katsuki only felt worse.

He had transgressed from feeling despair, to regret, to anger, to pity and a whole another range of emotions he couldn't quite place.

He knows that he fucked up with Ejiro, and he tried to fix it. He had never apologized in his entire life, and now he was trying to make up with two people in the span of a week.

One of it was accepted, even though "sorry" was never really said. Katsuki thought Izuku was an idiot for accepting that sorry excuse of an apology, but still he was grateful.

With Ejiro he had already planned out the entire thing. He knew what he wanted to say, and he had replayed the conversation a million times in his head.

Only problem was, that that was also based on Ejiro's responses. They were all favorable in Katsuki's mind, but reality would probably prove different.

In the end, Katsuki was just feeling mad. He tried so hard to set things right, and yet Ejiro was ignoring him. The redhead was acting all normal during class and training, but as soon as they got back to the dorms, they were never found in the same room at the same time.

Nobody sought anything behind it, except for Katsuki. He knew what was going on, and it was driving him crazy that Ejiro did not want to talk about it.

The only time he actually _tried_ , he was being denied by the other party. What did Ejiro expect from him, to get on his knees and grovel? That would never happen.

Katsuki wanted to say sorry, and to make clear that he was the one to blame. Katsuki had made the first move, and that meant he was to blame.

He had been thinking about it for hours, but in the end he couldn't find a single reason of why Ejiro felt so guilty about it. He couldn't get a grip on what the redhead was thinking, and at one point he even considered that Ejiro might hate him.

When Katsuki finally got a text at two am, he was ecstatic.

 _From Kirishima: Ok, let's talk. Sunday. Meet me at the fountain at 12._

The text was short and formal. Katsuki had gotten used to the text-talk and emojis that Ejiro would usually bug him with whenever he wanted to hang out.

To get this reply felt out of place, but still, Katsuki was happy enough that Ejiro wanted to talk about it after all, so he decided not to question it.

Right now he was sitting on the edge of the fountain. He tugged his jacket up over his mouth, his nose cold and red. He checked his phone. It was already twelve and Ejiro was nowhere to be seen. He hoped he wasn't being played at. He doesn't think he could handle it.

'Hey,' a voice spoke up from behind him. Katsuki looked around to see Ejiro standing there, his hands dug deep in his pockets and the smile on his face fake.

Katsuki got to his feet and stalked over. He could see Ejiro trembling. Katsuki rolled his eyes. 'Come here,' he said, reaching out and taking Ejiro's wrist as he pulled him forward, making Ejiro stagger.

'W-wait,' Ejiro called out, but Katsuki didn't listen. Katsuki stalked forward with determination as he found the side entrance to the gym, leading them both to the locker room.

The temperature inside was controlled, making sure it was the right environment for the students to train in, and the locker rooms were always at the right temperature year-round.

Katsuki zipped his jacket down and sat down on one of the benches, motioning for Ejiro to do the same. Katsuki eyed Ejiro over as he took off his own jacket, his movements insecure and calculated.

Katsuki took a couple of deep breaths to keep his anger in check. He wanted to have a normal conversation, not one based on outbursts and emotions as he usually would.

Ejiro sat down, his hands in his lap as he looked down at them. 'What did you want to talk about?' Ejiro asked, not looking up.

Katsuki's eyebrows knitted together. He thought the topic of their conversation would be pretty fucking obvious. 'I wanted to talk about us,' he replied, trying to keep his voice even.

Even though he didn't want to be controlled by emotions, he just couldn't deny that he was overflowing with them. Hate, regret, anger. Most of them were directed at himself. He had felt so stupid for what he'd done, but Ejiro felt the exact same.

'I already said that we can just forget about that,' Ejiro replied. Katsuki gritted his teeth together.

'Fucking look at me as you talk.'

Ejiro looked up, his expression a pain filled frown. The corners of his lips were curled up, but tears were stinging in the corners of his eyes.

'I know that what I did was stupid, and I don't have any excuses, but I'd rather just forget about it because this.. this is just..' Ejiro rambled. 'It hurts,' Katsuki finished. Ejiro's gaze flickered down at his hands again. 'That's why I can't forget about it,' Katsuki continued, his brows still furrowed. Ejiro looked up in surprise.

'What do you mean?' Katsuki huffed and slowly counts to ten. Ejiro finds the silence uncomfortable, but notices that Katsuki needs a minute, so he just lets it be.

'It means that I feel fucking sorry for what I did, but it also felt great.' Ejiro's eyebrows raised up as far as they could, making him look incredibly stupid. Katsuki tried to ignore it.

'What you did?' Ejiro asked in disbelief. 'You didn't do anything! I am the one to blame, because I took advantage of you!'

'How many fucking times do I have to say this to you?!' Katsuki almost yelled. ' _I_ was the one that kissed you first, wasn't I? That means I initiated everything, so it is my fault.'

Ejiro opened his mouth to argue but Katsuki cut him off.

'And I won't believe anything else.'

Ejiro looked at his hands again, remaining quiet. Katsuki hoped that it was finally getting through to him, that the redhead wasn't the one to blame, but he was. Ejiro shook his head. 'I can't accept that,' he said, his voice soft. Katsuki raised an eyebrow at him.

'I have been feeling so bad since then,' Ejiro continued, his whole body shaking as a sob escaped his mouth, 'I can't accept that it's your fault.'

 _Fuck._ He was actually crying. Katsuki was extremely bad at handling people that cried. He wasn't exactly the most soothing person to be around when things went wrong.

Tears rolled down Ejiro's cheeks and onto the bench beneath him as he quietly sobbed. Katsuki felt constricted. He didn't know what to do at all. His gut told him to get up and leave, and let Ejiro be, but his mind told him that would make everything even worse.

'Ejiro..' he called out, reaching out, but feeling insecure in doing so. Katsuki's hand lingered between the both of them as Ejiro sat there, crying.

As Ejiro glanced up again, he could see Katsuki reaching out for him, and instead of letting the blond fight his own consciousness on whether to comfort him this way or not, Ejiro lurched forward and wrapped his arms around Katsuki's body.

Katsuki stiffened underneath the touch as hot wet tears were soaking through his shirt. Ejiro desperately clung on as his body shocked with every sob. Katsuki tried to relax a little, to make Ejiro feel a little more comfortable, as the blond wrapped his arms around him.

'Look, we both apparently feel fucking awful about what happened. Can we just agree that this was never meant to happen?' Katsuki could feel Ejiro nod. 'That doesn't mean that I regret doing it with you, okay? I fucking enjoyed it. A _lot_.'

Ejiro pulled back, eyes glistening with tears that looked up at Katsuki's crimson ones.

'In any other situation I would've fucking loved it, and I have respect that you came to tell me you have a fucking crush on me. I wouldn't even dare to confess to me.'

Ejiro chuckled a little as he used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe away his tears.

'It wasn't your fault that I am in love with someone else, and it isn't your fault either that we had sex. I want to go back to the way we used to be, but I don't want to forget.'

Ejiro tilted his head to the side. 'Why would you want to remember this?' he asked, truly not believing why. Katsuki looked away.

'It's happened, we can't undo it, and apparently trying to forget is working out a lot worse for us than trying to accept and move on.'

Ejiro glanced down at his hands again as he fumbled with the hem of his shirt. 'I guess you're right. I tried so hard to forget about it, but every time I saw you, I got reminded, and I just fled to hide from my own feelings.'

Katsuki sighed. He looked back at Ejiro, who is quietly smiling to himself. The smile already seemed more genuine than before. 'I'm sorry I can't answer your feelings,' Katsuki says.

Ejiro whips his head up, his mouth open in shock. 'N-no! Don't be! I knew that the chance of getting together was already pretty small, but..'

'It's okay,' Katsuki cut him off again.

Ejiro chuckled as he whips his head back. 'We're pretty messed up, aren't we?'

Katsuki smirked in response. 'Maybe a little, but we can get over this.'

Ejiro looked over at Katsuki, his face suddenly serious again. 'I'm truly sorry for behaving so unmanly towards you. I should've talked to you sooner, but I was just afraid and.. somewhere I think I was still hoping you would come back to me?' he grinned while scratching the back of his head.

Now it was Katsuki's turn to look at his hands. 'Not like the situation with Deku is going much better, anyways.' Ejiro tilted his head to the side as he stared questioningly at Katsuki. Katsuki sighed deeply.

'Long story. I'll catch you up on the way back to the dorms.' With that, Katsuki got to his feet and turned to put on his jacket again. Ejiro followed suit. As they walked out of the gym, the atmosphere already felt much better. With the tension being gone, everything felt like before. Katsuki couldn't have hoped for anything better.

The cold fall wind whipped them in their faces as they made their way outside again.

'Hey, Katsuki.'

Katsuki stopped and turned around. Ejiro's cheeks were slightly red as he looked at the ground again.

'Does this mean we're friends again?'

Katsuki clicked his tongue and started to move again, leaving Ejiro to have to jog to catch up.

'You didn't even answer my question,' the redhead pouted. Katsuki looked ahead, but quickly glanced aside at Ejiro. Their gazes crossed, and Katsuki averted his again. 'I don't have to answer such a stupid question.'

Ejiro chuckled softly. 'Why is it stupid?'

Katsuki pulled his jacket closer. The answer was so obvious, and yet Ejiro wanted Katsuki to spell it out for him. Usually, he would never give in to stupid ass mind games like these, but just for once, he would give Ejiro the satisfaction.

'It's stupid, because you're asking if we can be friends _again._ We can't be friends again if we never stopped.'

Katsuki glanced aside, and immediately regrets it. Ejiro beamed at him with a mixture of pride and joy.

'Thanks, bro!' he said as he slapped Katsuki on the back in a friendly way. Katsuki grumbled and shoved his hands deeper into his pockets.

Ejiro walked a little faster and then turned around, keeping up the pace as he walked backwards towards the dorm, his eyes focused on Katsuki.

'So, you said there was a problem with Midoriya?' he asked, genuinely interested.

Katsuki looked away. He doesn't really feel like telling everything, but he knows that he needs it off his chest, and Ejiro was probably the best person to talk to. He heaved a deep sigh before replying:

'It's a long fucking story.'


	9. In the heat of the moment

Izuku sat on a bench, his hand cupping his chin as he muttered to himself. The sounds of explosions and debris shattering filled the air, but he is too focused on his own thoughts to notice.

His eyes are heavy but his mouth keeps sputtering word after word, unable to stop his mindless rambling.

He had spent all night doing Google searches, but none of them lead to the desired result. Most of his questions had led to outdated forums filled with stupid answers, none of which actually helped in his situation.

Now his brain was going on a muttering streak as he was trying to think of solutions to his problems.

The biggest and foremost problem was that Izuku had finally established that he was, indeed, still in love with Katsuki.

The second problem came paired with the first. Because he was still dating Shouto, he could never tell Katsuki about any of his feelings.

He had promised Shouto to stay by his side, even if the feelings for Katsuki lingered, and he just couldn't break that promise. Besides, he wouldn't want to.

His love for Shouto was still there, ever so present at the forefront of his mind. His love for Katsuki was simply trying to butt in, and Izuku didn't really appreciate it.

He told himself over and over again that Katsuki wasn't worthy of his love, that he was still degrading and selfish and that a relationship would simply be toxic, but the more he went over to Katsuki's room, the more he started to question that.

Katsuki had talked about the situation with Ejiro to Izuku. Izuku could see that it was very hard for the blond to talk about it, moreover admit his mistake of a one-night stand after Izuku rejected him, but Izuku was so proud of him for being able to admit it that a feeling swelled in his chest that he simply couldn't subdue.

'Were you even paying attention?' an aggravated voice spoke up.

Izuku whipped his head around, his eyes boring straight into Katsuki's ruby ones. Katsuki's outfit was covered in burn marks and dust. A dark red line ran from his left eyebrow down his cheek.

'Kacchan, you're hurt!' Izuku squealed as he got to his feet, reaching out to come to his aid. A gauntlet-clad hand slaps him away.

'I'm fine,' Katsuki snarls. 'Were you?'

Izuku's heart raced in his chest as he saw the blood caked on Katsuki's face, but he knew he wouldn't be allowed to help if the blond considered it minor. He tilted his head to the side at the question.

'Were I what?' he responded.

Katsuki ground his teeth together. 'You weren't watching.'

The way Katsuki's lips were pressed and his brows were knitted together made it clear to Izuku that it annoyed him that Izuku had missed the entire fight.

Heat was rushing to Izuku's cheeks, feeling kind of bad for being preoccupied with useless thoughts instead of paying attention.

'I'm sorry,' Izuku apologized honestly.

Katsuki clicked his tongue. He then turned away, facing the huge screen that displayed the training grounds, focusing on the next match . 'Just watch next time.'

Izuku's heart pounded a little faster. Katsuki wanted him to watch? It didn't really matter if Izuku saw Katsuki fighting – he knew that the blond would prevail either way – but somehow, the fact that Katsuki _wanted_ him to see it… it made him feel weird.

He shook his head as he looked past Katsuki at the screen where Shouto was taking his turn now. The dual-user barely had any trouble fighting his opponents – Kaminari and Ojirou – as he was forced to work together with Tsuyu.

They both quickly came up with a plan to take them down as fast as they could with as little damage as possible, using both of their Quirks to their full advantage.

Even though it wasn't much, Izuku could also see Shouto's growth. To him it was more obvious than to others, considering the huge amount of time they spent together, but as Uraraka sat down next to him she also pointed it out.

'He has really gotten better at teamwork, hasn't he?'

Izuku smiled, his eyes sparkling as they were glued to the screen, watching his boyfriend use both fire and ice to attain his goal. He nodded. 'Yeah, he has.'

'I think you're a good influence on him, Deku-kun.'

Izuku turned to look at her, his head slightly tilted. Uraraka laughed at his sudden red cheeks.

'You've been spending so much time with him that your best traits are starting to rub off on him. It's a good thing!' she exclaimed.

Izuku scratched his head as he chuckled sheepishly. He wasn't great with flattery of any kind, it just made him feel flustered.

He glanced back over at the screen again, noticing that the match had already been settled with a complete victory for Shouto and Tsuyu.

As Shouto made his way back to the observation deck, Izuku got to his feet and practically bounced over to him, gushing about how he was so proud that Shouto was finally able to use both powers as his own and work so well together.

Shouto smiled, and it made Izuku feel hot all over. The way Shouto's hair was messed up thanks to both heat and cold, the smoky scent that lingered after having used his fire powers… it made Izuku go crazy.

He had to keep himself in check as he talked to Shouto about using new techniques and improving the current ones, all the while his heart burning for more.

Inappropriate thoughts were coursing through his mind, and he wondered if Shouto would be up for any of it tonight after class until his eyes flickered over to Katsuki.

The blond was staring at them, his nose slightly scrunched up. That stare bore straight into Izuku's soul, making his thoughts take whole other shapes.

He swallowed thickly, arousal already creeping up on him. He quickly averted his gaze.

The sixth match was already wrapping up and soon it would be his turn to go into the battlefield, so he said his goodbyes to Shouto, leaving a quick peck on the lips that he hoped nobody noticed, as he turned to leave.

Izuku's hands were hovering above his laptop. He wanted to ask Google more questions, but he didn't know what. He had already gone through an entire transcript of rephrasing his previous questions, none with a good enough result to satisfy him.

He didn't know what exactly he wanted to ask. He wanted to know why he was in love with both of them. Was that even possible? To be in love with two people at the same time? It seemed impossible, wrong even.

He wanted to ask that question, but he couldn't. He was too afraid of the answer.

He groaned in frustration and let himself fall back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Why was all of this so confusing? Why couldn't his brain just make up and decide?

He wanted to be with Shouto. He truly cared about the boy and wanted to be there for him, always.

He loved Katsuki. He just couldn't stop thinking about being held by those strong arms, being kissed by those lips, being… His cock started twitching to life at just the thought.

Izuku groaned more. Great. Even just _thinking_ about Katsuki gave him an erection now.

He pushed himself upright and put his laptop back on his lap again. His fingers glided along the keys as they worked on their own.

 _Can I be in love with two people at the same time?_

As Izuku started scrolling through the results he had unconsciously started chewing on his nails again.

Even though he already knew the answer, he did not like seeing it black on white. His hand moved on its own as he clicked open a website. " _Being in love with two people at the same time"_ the headline read.

Izuku's eyes scanned the page, his brain processing every single word as fast as it could.

 _Falling in love with two people is not common, but it happens. Being in love with two people at the same time isn't dangerous, but the actions you take can be._

Izuku rolled his eyes. That much he knew. He's heard enough middle school rumors about cheating girlfriends and guys sleeping around with whoever they could get their hands on that he knew tlfeeling things wasn't wrong, but doing things was.

He scrolled through the rest of the page, but it wasn't helpful. It just told him to make a choice and get over the other, but it's not what Izuku wanted.

Even though he knew very well that loving two people at the same time was wrong, and the thought of dating two people at the same time was even _worse,_ he just knew that he wouldn't be able to make a choice. He wanted to be selfish and greedy. He wanted _both_.

The door to his room opened unwarned and he quickly slammed his laptop closed, nearly sandwiching his fingers in the process.

His heart raced and his cheeks were flushed as he saw Shouto closing the door behind him. The dual-user raised an eyebrow as he saw Izuku sitting on his bed, cross-legged with a laptop in his lap, his face red and breathing slightly heavier than usual.

'What were you doing?' Shouto asked as he walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed. Izuku put his laptop away and scooted over, making room for Shouto to join him.

Izuku chewed on his lower lip. He couldn't just outright say what he had been Googling about. He didn't want to say anything until he was sure he had a solution to his problems. If he would ever get one….

Shouto reached out, wrapping his arms around Izuku's waist and pulling him into his lap. A whole new feeling coursed through Izuku's body, making him feel hot all over.

Shouto's breath tickled the back of Izuku's neck, making the hairs there stand up straight.

'You did really good during training today,' Shouto said as his lips pressed down against Izuku's collarbone. Izuku shivered.

'You were great as well. Your teamwork has really improved,' he responded.

Shouto leaned forward, softly suckling on the skin of Izuku's neck. Izuku couldn't contain his excitement. He had been thinking about doing this all day, and the fact that Shouto actually _wanted_ to do this with him made him feel even more aroused.

'So, what were you looking at?' Shouto tried to pry again as he nibbled on Izuku's earlobe, earning him a low moan.

'N-nothing,' Izuku stammered as he tried to shift so he could actually see Shouto, but the dual-user wouldn't have any of it. He liked teasing his boyfriend like this way too much, so he kept him firmly in place, his hands travelling down his thighs.

Izuku could feel Shouto's erection pressing against his ass. Unable to hold back, Izuku rolled his hips against it, making Shouto's breath hitch.

Izuku bit his lower lip as he looked over his shoulder, seeing Shouto's gaze clouded with arousal as well.

'Were you watching porn?' Shouto asked, hand already slipping under the elastic of Izuku's boxers.

Izuku mewled as the boy wrapped his fingers around the base of his cock and started working it.

Izuku's mind was foggy and hazed as he tried to process Shouto's question. He opened his mouth to say no right as Shouto's thumb rubbed over the tip of his dick, making his words slurred. 'No-nggghh.'

Shouto's other hand found its way under Izuku's shirt, seeking and flicking Izuku's nipple as he finally found what he was looking for.

Izuku moaned so loudly that he immediately clasped his mouth shut with both hands, his face becoming as red as a tomato. Shouto snickered. 'It's okay,' he replied.

Izuku tried to focus on Shouto's hands, unable to do anything else. It was no use trying to argue with him in a state like this, and honestly, Izuku saw no reason to. If Shouto wanted to believe that he had been watching porn, then that was okay. It didn't matter anyway. Katsuki wasn't important right now. Right now it was just him and Shouto.

Izuku took advantage of Shouto's hands being preoccupied by shifting and turning around so he could wrap his arms around Shouto's neck. He leaned forward, intertwining their lips. He licked the inside of Shouto's mouth as if he were starving for the touch.

Shouto tugged on the bottom of Izuku's shirt, indicating that Izuku should raise up his arms and take it off completely. Both of their erections were straining against their clothes now.

Izuku pressed his hips forward and saw the look in Shouto's eyes change as their erections rubbed together. Even through the clothes, their dicks were pretty sensitive as Izuku started rolling his hips like he had done before.

Shouto's eyes fell to half-mast as tingles of pleasure coursed through his body.

Pushing aside all reservations, Shouto dug his fingers deep into Izuku's green curls, pulling them even closer as their lips crashed together in hungry, wet kisses. They broke away, a string of saliva between them.

Shouto reached down and pulled his own shirt over his head. Izuku decided to take the initiative, leaving a trail of kisses and hickeys as he wrapped his tongue around Shouto's nipple, his fingers playing with the other one.

Izuku felt hot and needy. Shouto's hands hovered over Izuku's butt. The dual-user wasn't quite sure if it was okay to do that yet.

Izuku glanced up, seeing the hesitation in Shouto's eyes. He reached backward, his hands over Shouto's as he pressed them down firmly.

Shouto's cheeks were starting to become red, but Izuku didn't care as he started to pry the boy's sweats off of his hips.

In most other situations, Izuku was calm and calculated, thinking over every decision before acting. Right now, all he knew was his need for Shouto.

It didn't take long before both of them were stripped down to their boxers. Shouto pushed himself up from the bed, making Izuku squeal softly as he flipped them over.

Izuku laid on his back on the mattress, Shouto hovering over him, as the boy leaned down to press their lips together again. Shouto kicked Izuku's legs open and placed himself between them.

Izuku's breaths were short and ragged as he stared at Shouto's chest. His eyes were half-lidded and his cock twitched at the thought of having Shouto's dick inside his ass. It seemed so weird to have sex like that, but also very exciting.

Izuku wrapped his arms around Shouto's neck again, pressing their chests together. They came down for another long kiss, needing to catch their breath quickly afterwards.

Shouto pulled back, looking down at Izuku with half-lidded eyes . 'Is this what you want?' he asked, panting.

Izuku closed his eyes, biting his lower lip as he hummed. When he opened them again, all he could see was Shouto. There was nothing else. Just the two of them. How he wanted this!

'Y-yes,' he said.

Shouto glanced down at Izuku's boxers. A wet spot on the front indicated that Izuku's cock was already wet with pre-come.

Shouto couldn't contain himself anymore. He grabbed the elastic of Izuku's boxers and pulled them down, tossing them away unceremoniously. He then placed his hands in the crooks of Izuku's knees, pushing them up to reveal Izuku's pink hole.

Shouto's dick strained against his boxers. It twitched as he thought about burying his dick in that beautiful virgin ass.

He hesitated before looking back up at Izuku. They didn't intend to do this tonight, so they hadn't prepared anything.

As Izuku realized why Shouto held back, he held up a finger to say he needed a minute. Shouto released his legs and Izuku propped himself up on his elbows as he reached for his nightstand. From one of the drawers he took he a bottle and handed it to Shouto.

'You have lube in your room?' Shouto asked, a smile tugging at his lips.

Izuku looked away, feeling embarrassed even though he laid there naked.

'It's okay,' Shouto reassured him, taking his chin in his hand to force Izuku to look at him, locking their lips together.

Shouto then proceeded to push Izuku's legs up again. He put a bit of the cold lube on his hand and started tracing Izuku's rim with his fingers, making the boy shiver and his hole twitch.

Izuku never thought he would be the kind of person to crave a dick in his ass so much, but right now it was all he could think about.

Shouto was moving too slow, teasing him, and Izuku was working himself up over it. He was just about to say something about it when Shouto pushed one finger into his hole, making Izuku whip his head back and moan.

He gripped the bedsheets tightly as Shouto stirred inside, tracing the walls of Izuku's ass.

Shouto kept an eye on Izuku's face to see if he was causing any discomfort, but by the way Izuku was panting and his eyes were still half-lidded, he knew that it was okay.

He tested a bit further and inserted two fingers, slowly stretching.

'Aahh Sh-Shouto,' Izuku moaned.

Izuku glanced up at Shouto. His tongue was sticking out of his mouth as hefocusedon his task. It was kind of adorable. All the thoughts of Shouto being cute were eradicated as Shouto stretched Izuku's hole even further by inserting three fingers.

Even though it was their first time, for Izuku it went too slow. 'M-more,' Izuku stammered.

Shouto looked up at him, eyes clouded with arousal. He had wanted to take it slow, to make sure Izuku wouldn't hurt. He hadn't expected the boy to beg for more.

'P-please go f-faster,' Izuku hitched, his back arching as Shouto pressed deeper.

As per Izuku's request, Shouto added another finger. Shouto was surprised by how much stretch an asshole had, but he was also intrigued.

Pre-come was dribbling from his own dick, and he could see a bead of it on the tip of Izuku's as well. Sweat was dripping down his forehead. He wanted to bury his dick in Izuku's ass so bad. His hips tried to buck forward of their own accord, but Shouto wasn't ready yet. His gaze returned to Izuku's.

'Does this feel good?' Shouto asked.

Izuku nodded and hummed. Shouto's fingers traced the walls of Izuku's inner workings and he could see the reaction on Izuku's face clearly. His mouth hung slightly open and his eyes were glassy. The garbled sounds escaping from his throat were enough indication of pleasure to Shouto, but Izuku tried to pull himself together to speak a coherent sentence. 'S-so g-good.'

Shouto licked his lips. He pulled out, leaving Izuku whining. He suddenly felt so empty!

Izuku looked down as Shouto pulled down his own boxers, his dick popping out, glistening with pre-come. Izuku gulped. It was so big! How was he supposed to take that…

The thoughts were expelled from his mind as Shouto grabbed the base of his dick and started guiding it to Izuku's hole. The tip of it caught on Izuku's rim, making him shiver with pleasure.

Shouto looked very focused and in his own world, so Izuku decided to stay silent, covering his mouth with his hands to prevent sounds from escaping.

Shouto shuffled a bit, feeling awkward. He was very insecure about doing it right, and he didn't want Izuku to hurt…

He pressed the tip of his dick against Izuku's hole, slowly pushing in. He could feel Izuku clenching around him as the boy tried to suppress his moans.

'Sh-Shou-nggh,' Izuku groaned. Shouto placed his hands on either side of Izuku's head, his hips bucking forward, filling Izuku up completely.

'Ah!' Izuku screamed as Shouto's dick hit the back.

Shouto's brows knitted together in worry, but Izuku reached out, wrapping his arms around Shouto's neck again and pressed their foreheads together.

'Is this good?' Shouto asked, needing confirmation. Izuku hummed. His body was telling him to move, but he was waiting for Shouto to take the lead. 'Then I'm going to move,' Shouto told him.

'Please,' Izuku begged.

Shouto started moving at a slow pace, pulling his dick out of Izuku's ass until only the tip remained inside. Then he bucked his hips forward, feeling Izuku's body shock underneath him as he was full again. Shouto did this a couple of times, before Izuku needed more.

'Faster,' the boy demanded.

Shouto wanted Izuku to feel good, so he did as Izuku asked him to and started to move at a faster pace. After a while of setting a steady pace, Izuku still wasn't satisfied.

'Shouto,' he whined, dragging his nails along the dual-user's back. 'More. P-please, I need m-more.'

Shouto was already running out of breath, but he didn't feel content yet. He decided to let himself go and let him work on instinct.

His hips moved faster and faster, his dick slamming the back of Izuku's walls repeatedly, making the boy cry out. Shouto lifted one of Izuku's legs up further and pounded in again, making Izuku cry out louder than before.

He glanced up, seeing Izuku smile in an arousal-induced state. That must've been his sweet spot.

Shouto decided to experiment a little and twisted some more to hit that one place. Izuku's vision started to blur and white blotches were clouding his vison.

More pre-come dribbled down the length of Izuku's cock as he could feel the tension building up. He panted heavily as Shouto's dick hit his prostate again and again, completely losing himself in the act.

'Izuku,' he moaned, feeling the boy's hole clench around his dick. The sensation became too much for him and he wanted to pull out, but it was already too late as his body jerked and he came.

Izuku could feel Shouto's dick twitch and jerk inside and he enjoyed the feeling as he came as well.

His vision was white and he was enveloped in a feeling of ecstasy. 'Mhhmnn.. Ka.. ccha..,' he moaned.

When Shouto was done releasing all of his cum, he pulled away from Izuku. Izuku felt sore and empty, but happy as he laid his arms next to him.

Shouto crawled over, reaching out to pull Izuku against his chest. Both of their chests heaved rapidly.

Izuku didn't know what to say and for some reason, he felt like there was no need to talk.

Cum was seeping out of his hole, but he didn't care. He savored the moment as he rolled over, clutching closer to Shouto's bare chest.

They both felt clammy with sweat and semen covering their bodies, but the feeling of having an orgasm this way felt so good that neither could complain.

Izuku nuzzled closer to Shouto's chest as the dual-user stared up at the ceiling.

Everybody always said that first times were awkward, confusing and messy, but to Izuku it was none of that. All he could think about was that every second of it had been perfect, and nothing in the entire world could take him away from this moment of bliss.

* * *

Shouto looked down at Izuku who was laying on his chest. The boy was sleeping soundly.

After their… adventure… they had gone to take a quick bath and put on some boxers before falling asleep in each other's arms.

Even though Izuku looked so peaceful while sleeping, things were stirring inside of Shouto's mind and he just couldn't fall asleep.

He softly pushed the boy away until Izuku's head was lying on the pillow instead. He crawled over the bed and reached out, taking Izuku's laptop into his lap.

Something about the way the boy had turned red as he had entered the room didn't feel right. Shouto didn't like to pry; he trusted Izuku to tell him when something was bothering him. Yet he couldn't push this feeling aside.

As the laptop powered on, Shouto's eyebrows raised at the open website.

 _Being in love with two people at once._

Shouto looked back at Izuku. A pit formed in his stomach. He had always known that Izuku had a crush on Katsuki, but he thought that it was subsiding since they had gotten together. All the love Izuku had shown him couldn't have just been out of politeness towards not wanting to break Shouto's heart.

Still, doubt was forming in Shouto's mind. It was a feeling unfamiliar to him.

He looked back at Izuku, his chest rising and falling steadily. Shouto smiled. He couldn't deny that he had too much love for this green-haired reckless boy, couldn't deny that his heart was overflowing with emotion. He also couldn't deny that he was inherently bad at expressing it.

He put the laptop back in its original place, making sure that it was just right so Izuku wouldn't notice in the morning. Then he crawled back next to his boyfriend, carefully lifting the boy's head and sliding under it so they could cuddle again.

Shouto wasn't quite sure what to do now. He could talk to Izuku and ask him to break his deal with Katsuki, so the two of them would spenless time together. Shouto thought that over. He couldn't. It would break Izuku's heart to have such a restriction.

He could talk to Katsuki and tell him to back off. He knew they both had feelings for each other and Shouto would prefer it if there wasn't an opportunity to take advantage of it. It would probably end up in a fight between him and Katsuki.

The last resort was that Shouto had to talk to Izuku about what he had found. He wanted to know more about Izuku's true feelings towards his childhood friend. Shouto wanted to know what position he was in, whether there was any risk of his heart being broken. Being uncertain was just so frustrating.

Shouto started playing with Izuku's curls, softly combing them out as he sighed. Admitting his true feelings towards Izuku had been hard enough.

Maintaining their relationship over the past few weeks and showing that he cared had been tough on Shouto, but he had been growing and wanted to grow more.

Izuku gave him the ability to show the others the best parts of him, the parts he had been hiding because of his childhood. He didn't want to give any of this pressed his nose into Izuku's hair and inhaled the sweet scent deeply.

Shouto was at his wit's end. All he wanted was the boy lying in his arms right now and he would fight to keep him close, but Shouto knew that Izuku wasn't his property. If Izuku wanted to leave, he had every right to.

Tears prickled Shouto's eyes as he nuzzled deeper into Izuku's hair. Shouto just hoped Izuku would never leave.


	10. Moving On Is Never Easy

'Fuck!' Katsuki yelled, faceplanting himself onto the bed as Ejiro closed the door behind him. The redhead chuckled as he sat down on the floor, watching Katsuki roll over and face the ceiling.

'Didn't go as planned?' Ejiro offered. Katsuki simply grumbled, earning him another smirk.

'I can't do this,' Katsuki admitted, pushing himself upright again, clutching the pillow to his chest.

Ejiro tilted his head to the side. 'Can't do what?'

Katsuki looked away through the window. Outside it was dark. It was only 6pm, but as the winter was approaching, the days were getting shorter. 'He keeps coming over nearly every day. Does he even realize I _still_ like him?'

Ejiro smiled a sad smile. He knew that Katsuki still had feelings for Izuku, but he couldn't quite understand why the blond still allowed their classmate to coach him into becoming a better version of himself. If he was clearly struggling this much with suppressing his true feelings, wouldn't it simply be better to call off these meetings and let the feelings subside?

'I mean, it's pretty obvious, isn't it?' Ejiro started. Katsuki's gaze flickered over to the redhead, his eyebrows raised in disbelief. 'He's dating Todoroki and he's apparently pretty smitten with that guy. You're trying to change yourself into someone that Midoriya would date, but he's not going to date you. He made that pretty clear.'

Katsuki wants to huff, roll his eyes, snap at the redhead, but he had no reason to. Everything Ejiro said was true, but that was what was the most frustrating. He _was_ trying to make himself a better person so Izuku would date him, but somehow his brain refused to register that that was not going to happen.

He would have to get over it and forget about Izuku altogether, but he just couldn't. Every time Izuku would come over to his room to lecture him about assertiveness, how to keep a proper conversation and come up with new exercises for him to perform, Katsuki would just fall for him harder. Izuku was just so passionate about everything. Katsuki admired that about him.

Katsuki clutched the pillow closer to his body, his chin resting on top. 'I know that. I just can't get over him. Argh, this is so stupid!' he screamed as he let himself fall back on the bed again.

Ejiro had a lot of trouble keeping a straight face. Katsuki acting so out of character was somehow very funny.

'I know it's pretty hard to set your sights on someone else,' Ejiro said. Katsuki glared at the redhead, knowing very well that the guy still had a crush on him. 'But I think you maybe should stop hanging out with him. You're allowing yourself to fall more in love with him. It's just going to hurt you in the long run.'

'I fucking know that!' Katsuki snapped as he threw the pillow at Ejiro's face, who barely dodged. 'Argh!' Katsuki exclaimed as he covered his face with his hands. 'Why am I feeling like this?'

Ejiro picked up the pillow that laid next to him and clutched it to his chest, massaging the stuffing inside to keep himself busy.

'It's all part of being human,' Ejiro said.

'I fucking hate it,' Katsuki huffed.

Ejiro turned to look at the ceiling as Katsuki had his eyes fixated on the redhead. 'Love is a tough feeling. Whenever you see that person you feel both amazing and terrible. You want to tell them how you feel, but at the same time you're so afraid of rejection that it makes you panic even thinking about it. In the end, it's all about whether they like you back or not. If they do, it's great. You get to go out, have all these amazing firsts and maybe lasts. Maybe it'll end up in a horrible break-up, maybe a happy ever after. If they don't, you're left heartbroken, while they move on. It's not really fair, is it?'

Katsuki simply stared at Ejiro, his mouth slightly agape, his eyebrows raised. He never thought the idiot could say something so profound, so deep. It takes him aback.

Ejiro's eyes flickered back over to Katsuki's, carrying a trace of sadness in them. 'I know you're still clinging onto that hope that he will leave Todoroki and come to you, but if I were you, I wouldn't count on it. I've seen the way he looks at the guy, and honestly, it's the same way that you look at him.'

A feeling of despair started to creep up on Katsuki. If that was true, and his own feelings were any kind of indication for how Izuku must be feeling, then he knew it was a lost cause.

Katsuki shifted and turned to face the window. 'No, it's not fair,' he muttered. 'I've been working so hard to please him, to make him happy. And he looks so proud when he says I've been improving… I swear to God I can physically see that glimmer in his eyes when I tell him about my day. It's just so hard to deny my feelings when he looks at me like that!'

Katsuki looked back at Ejiro, who was looking at him, a smile tugging at his lips. Katsuki started to boil with anger. 'What the fuck is funny about any of this!' he snarls, looking around to find his pillow so he can throw it, finding it already in Ejiro's clutches.

'No, no, I'm sorry!' Ejiro said, his face now breaking out into a full blown grin. Katsuki gritted his teeth. 'It's just… I've never seen you like this before. You've really changed.'

Katsuki raised an eyebrow at him. Even though Katsuki had been working very hard to change, he hadn't noticed anything in his own behavior. It's alienating to hear that others _are_ noticing it.

'I have?' he asked, a bit unsure. This was his goal, right? He wanted to change, so he would be a nicer person, a person Izuku would date.

Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he had never thought he'd actually succeed. He had always held his pride high and realizing that his bad tendencies were starting to fade… it made him feel good.

Ejiro shifted, putting the pillow beside him and folding his hands in his lap, practically beaming at Katsuki. 'Yeah, you have! You've become a lot more open about what you're thinking and it's nice.'

Katsuki's gaze flickered down at his hands. Self-reflection was one of Katsuki's weak points, but now that he gave it more thought, it was indeed like Ejiro said. He had been trying very hard to talk more to his classmates, learning about all sorts of things he previously didn't have the patience for.

He had learned about Uraraka's home situation and how she struggled to improve on her close combat skills, eventually offering to teach her more martial art skills after class.

He had made up a conversation with Kouda, who was usually pretty quiet, and had gained more knowledge on how to take care of animals. One day Kouda had to go home and the guy had trusted Katsuki enough to pet sit his bunny. The blond had spent the entire day studying with the tiny rabbit in his lap, softly stroking its fur.

Katsuki had even taken the time to talk to Jirou and the others that formed the band back at the Cultural Festival, making plans to rehearse more and see if they could make it a more frequent thing.

As all of these things passed through Katsuki's mind, he realized that he had indeed been changing.

Before, he wouldn't have had the patience to listen to anyone rambling about their own problems when he had more than enough things to do on his own.

He wouldn't have offered to help anyone, striving to be the top hero on his own and not wanting anyone to come even close.

Now, he was more interested in his classmates' personal lives. Every morning he was greeted by almost everyone in his class, during lunch he never sat around the same people twice in a row, making sure that he could catch up with others as well, and during training instead of focusing on his own growth he went around to see if anyone needed help improving.

Katsuki could almost physically feel his heart softening. It was weird to realize how much he'd changed without noticing it.

'Yeah, I guess you're right,' Katsuki replied, still looking at his hands.

'Look, I don't mean to tell you what you're supposed to be doing,' Ejiro spoke up, making Katsuki's eyes lock with his, 'but I think it's a good idea if you start to let go of the idea of dating Midoriya.'

A pit formed in Katsuki's stomach. He knew that Ejiro was right, but he just didn't want to admit it. He had spent so long thinking about the stupid nerd Izuku that it seemed impossible to just let go like that.

He had had a crush on the guy since middle school, but had denied it for most of the time, letting his pride and ego get the better of him. He hadn't known what to do with the fluttery feelings in his stomach, eventually dubbing them as annoying and redirecting them towards anger, leading to bullying rather than being honest, something that had scarred Izuku for years to come. Katsuki still regretted that.

That's why, after nearly a full year at U.A. and seeing Izuku's growth – still resenting him for it but also not being able to help feeling proud of it as well – he had admitted the feelings to himself and to Izuku. Katsuki had felt extremely _shit_ after how that ended.

He was slowly coming to terms with it now, seeing as how Izuku didn't mind still coming over nearly every other day.

'I just swear to fucking God that guy has a crush on me,' Katsuki murmurs, gaze redirected at the window yet again.

Ejiro's eyebrows knitted together. 'What makes you think that?'

Katsuki grumbled inaudible things. Fact was, he didn't really have any proof. Izuku was dating Shouto, so the guy must have a crush on half 'n half, or else they wouldn't be together, right? That much made sense to Katsuki.

Even though Katsuki had spent nearly his entire life with Izuku's eyes trained on him, being admired and gawked at, this felt different. That sparkle in his eyes, the way his cheeks got slightly pink when Katsuki got too close by accident… it just weren't things Katsuki could ignore.

'Never mind, forget it,' Katsuki said, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. He shook his head, gripping his hair tightly with one of his hands, the other resting on the mattress.

'You're right,' he said, turning to face Ejiro. 'I should get over him.'

Ejiro smiled a little. It was so obvious how much Katsuki had grown to anyone but the blond himself.

'This doesn't mean I'll date you though,' Katsuki said, shooting a glare towards the redhead.

Ejiro burst out laughing, earning him a frown. 'I never even said anything like that!'

Katsuki rolled his eyes and pushed himself off the bed. 'Whatever. I'm going to take a bath.'

He turned to grab a towel and slung it around his shoulders, before leaving Ejiro behind in his room.

Shouto was pacing the length of his room. He checked his alarm ten times already, even checking it to his phone to make sure it was the right time and not playing tricks on him.

Anxiety was rolling in his gut, making him nauseous. He had asked Izuku to meet up with him in his room that night to discuss something, but he never said what.

Already having sent the text, he realized later that it must be even more anxiety inducing for the boy, not knowing what Shouto wanted to talk about. For all he knew, Izuku might have thought Shouto was going to break up with him.

That was, of course, not his intention at all. He just wanted to talk about the situation considering… Shouto finds it hard to put into words.

Shouto's head whipped around towards the door as someone knocked softly before excusing themselves while entering.

Izuku smiled softly as he walked over to Shouto, standing on the tips of his toes as he pressed his lips against Shouto's. All of Shouto's anxiety was momentarily forgotten. If Izuku showed him affection like this, then it probably didn't affect the boy as much as Shouto feared.

Izuku crawled up on the bed, crossing his legs and placing his hands on his legs as he leaned forward, looking at Shouto. 'You wanted to talk about something?' Izuku initiated.

Shouto nodded once and then settled himself next to Izuku. Shouto didn't know how to start. He had breached Izuku's privacy by looking at his laptop without permission. Izuku didn't know this, but if Shouto wanted to talk about this, then he would have to admit that.

'First, I have to apologize,' he started.

Izuku's eyebrows knitted together as he looked at Shouto, head slightly tilted to the side. 'For what?' he asked.

'Last week I… I looked at your laptop without asking you. I'm sorry.'

Izuku's body turned rigid. Last week he had been Googling about being in love with two people at the same time… Could that be what Shouto wanted to talk about? Izuku broke out in a cold sweat, hands trembling as he gripped his legs tighter.

'W-what about it?' Izuku pushed past his lips.

Shouto looked down at the bedsheets, tracing circles with his fingers. 'I saw your search history. That's what I wanted to talk about.'

Izuku's lower lip started trembling. How could he have been so stupid to look up stuff like that!? Shouto must have thought that Izuku wanted to leave him, but even the thought of doing that made Izuku feel so bad that he never allowed himself to think about it again.

'I-I'm sorry…,' Izuku muttered, on the verge of tears.

Shouto looked up, seeing tears glistening at the corners of Izuku's eyes. A rush of guilt washed over him. He slowly reached out, coaxing Izuku's hands from his legs and holding them in his. 'I'm not mad,' Shouto assured him.

Izuku sniffed, struggling very hard to meet Shouto's gaze. 'You're not?' he said, his voice soft.

Shouto shook his head, trying to keep his emotions in check. 'No, I'm not. I just wanted to talk to you about it.'

Izuku wriggled his hand out of Shouto's grasp and wiped his eyes. 'What d-do you w-want to know?' he stuttered. He was also having a difficult time, Shouto noted.

Shouto sighed. There were a thousand things he wanted to know. Was Izuku still in love with him? Was Izuku also still in love with Katsuki? What did Izuku expect to find when Googling something like that? He decided to start with the easiest question.

'Do you still love me?'

Izuku hiccupped as he stared back up at Shouto. 'Of course I do!' he exclaimed, louder than probably necessary, but Izuku wanted to prove a point. He had promised Shouto he'd stay and he would never break that promise.

'Do you… do you love Bakugou?' Shouto turned his eyes back to the bedsheets, unable to look Izuku in the eye right now. He knew that the answer was going to hurt either way.

Izuku's voice was so soft that Shouto could barely hear it and it almost broke on that one single word.

'Yes.'

Shouto gritted his teeth together. He had known it all this time, yet he allowed himself to deny it. He had hoped that the answer would be no, that he could just apologize for any misunderstanding that would've come from that, and that they could move on. Having Izuku say this, it made everything so much more complicated.

'B-but I would never leave you!' Izuku spoke up, squeezing Shouto's hands lightly.

'Then why did you search for that?' Shouto managed to say. His mind was going haywire. He didn't know how he wanted this conversation to go anymore, didn't know what he wanted as an end result. He just knew he wanted Izuku to stay with him.

Izuku bit his lip, trying to keep his tears from falling. 'I don't know,' he said.

Shouto shook his head, glancing up, eyes meeting with Izuku's. He could almost see Izuku flinch under the gaze.

'You do know,' Shouto pushed. He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to hurt his boyfriend. Yet, right now, he was hurting, and that wasn't fair either.

Izuku tugged on his hands until Shouto finally released them, then turned to cover his face with them, sobbing softly.

Shouto reached out, wrapping his arms around the small boy's body and holding him tight. He softly stroked Izuku's green curls as the sobs started to grow louder and more uncontrollable as the boy was probably fighting with himself.

'I'm not mad at you,' Shouto repeated. 'I just want to know what you want.'

Izuku sniffed and hiccupped, clutching tightly onto Shouto's shirt. 'I don't know what I want,' Izuku whined, unable to keep his voice steady.

Shouto's hand rubbed along Izuku's back soothingly. 'Yes, you do. Just tell me. We can figure this out.' Izuku made a sound that hurt Shouto's heart so much that he actually wanted to run away and hide, but he didn't.

'I w-want b-both,' Izuku hiccupped.

Shouto fought hard to keep his voice neutral as his heart was pounding in his chest. 'Both what?' he replied, knowing fully well what Izuku meant.

'Both of you,' Izuku responded, breaking out into a massive sob.

Shouto didn't know what to do now. It was pretty clear what Izuku wanted, but if it was possible… nobody knew. Dating two people at the same time is not something that's done often.

Izuku softly pushed himself away and wiped his eyes, even though the tears still kept on falling. 'I.. know,' he said in between breaths. Shouto raised an eyebrow at the remark.

'I know that it's… wrong… to want both,' Izuku continued, working very hard to keep his voice even and to stop the tears. 'But I just.. I don't know… Why do I want this!?' he cried out, letting his face fall into his hands again.

'It's okay,' Shouto said, reaching out and stroking Izuku's arm gently. 'We'll figure it out. Together.'

Izuku nodded, unable to speak. Izuku whipped his head back, startling Shouto, as he took a deep breath. 'I just.. I couldn't tell you. I thought you'd think that I didn't love you anymore or something… but that's not true!' he started rambling. 'I love you, I'm sure of that, but I also love Kacchan and… it's confusing. It feels like I should make choice, but I can't, Shouto, I just can't!'

Shouto was a bit taken aback by this sudden approach, but he's also glad that Izuku was starting to get his head together and act like himself again.

'Maybe you're just confused because you're meeting up with him so much. You're not allowing yourself to get over him,' Shouto offered, trying to keep his own intentions hidden. He never meant to force Izuku away from helping Katsuki, not when he could see that it made the boy that happy, but if it's hurting him that much, then it might be for the best.

Izuku shook his head, then gazed past Shouto at something, then nodded, before looking lost again. Eventually, he just shrugged before looking at his hands in his lap.

'What do you want?' Shouto tried again.

Izuku was nibbling on his lip. He knew what he wanted, but it was just impossible. 'I want to date you and Katsuki,' Izuku admitted honestly.

'But you can't,' Shouto added.

Izuku shook his head again, tears stinging his eyes. 'It's wrong to do that.'

'Then what do you want?' Shouto probed.

Izuku's gaze flickered up to Shouto's, then away at somewhere else in the room. 'I want to not be confused anymore.'

'Then we'll do that,' Shouto said, trying his best to smile.

'But I don't know how!' Izuku exclaimed, sounding exasperated. 'I just don't know how I'll ever get over Kacchan. I have loved him since middle school… maybe even before that.. I can't just forget about him!'

Izuku cringed as he looked back up at Shouto, seeing how the dual-user's nose was scrunched up as Izuku talked. 'I'm sorry,' Izuku whispered.

Shouto straightened his face. 'No, I'm sorry,' he replied. 'I only want you to be honest with me. If you don't tell me anything, we can't work on it. You know that.'

Izuku nodded, feeling bad. Everything right now seemed to lead to a choice, and because of the promise he had made, he felt obligated to stay with Shouto. Even though that was what he wanted, he felt trapped.

'I'm not going to stand in your way if you want to choose Bakugou.'

Izuku glanced up, mouth open in shock. 'I never said.. I wouldn't ever.. Shouto!' he whined, tears starting to roll down his cheeks again.

Shouto stared in shock, his eyebrows raised. 'That's not what I meant,' he quickly said, but Izuku had already started sobbing again. 'Fuck,' Shouto muttered, reaching out and pulling Izuku against his chest.

'We're going to figure this out, okay?' he said with the most soothing voice he could muster.

Izuku nodded against his chest.

'You don't have to come up with a solution right now. We'll do this together.'

Izuku squeaked as he tried to talk to no avail. Izuku was so scared of Shouto being mad at him, and yet even though he wasn't, right now he felt somehow even worse.

He knew that Shouto wasn't making him choose right now, but the dual-user was going to. Neither Izuku nor Shouto believed in a non-monogamous relationship after all. It just couldn't happen.

It took Izuku a long time to calm down after all, eventually falling asleep in Shouto's arms from exhaustion.

Shouto was still stroking the boy's hair even long after Izuku had fallen asleep, pondering and murmuring to himself. Even though Shouto had hurt from discovering that Izuku was still in love with Katsuki, maybe even more than the boy was in love with him, it couldn't compare with how bad he had felt after seeing Izuku crumble to pieces.

He rested his chin on top of Izuku's hair. Right now, there was nothing more he could do.

Katsuki grumbled as he got to his feet after someone knocked on his door. As he swung the door open, ready to blow someone up – quite literally – he was surprised by seeing Shouto stand there.

'May I come in?' the dual-user asked politely.

Katsuki gritted his teeth, not quite in the mood for conversation. 'Why the fuck should I let you?' he responded.

Shouto's expression remained deadpan. It made Katsuki even more pissed off. 'I have some matters to discuss with you. Mainly about Izuku.'

Katsuki raised an eyebrow. 'Izuku?'

Shouto blinked, unaffected. They were dating and being intimate with each other, why would he call his boyfriend anything other than by his first name?

'Yes. Midoriya, to you. Deku, if you please.'

Katsuki's hands shook with anger. He knew that Izuku was the guy's first name. It didn't mean that this half 'n half bastard could use it so casually!

'I have nothing to discuss with you,' he replied cold. Nothing he wouldn't regret saying, at least.

'I'm doing this because it is what's best for Izuku.'

Katsuki huffed and his face broke out into a grin. 'Are you deciding what's best for him now?'

Shouto shook his head, his face still neutral. Katsuki couldn't stand it. 'We talked it over and decided that this is what's best for him.'

'Then why isn't he coming over himself?'

'Because he's scared.'

This took Katsuki aback. Izuku had come over to his room numerous times the past few weeks, talking to Katsuki and having fun as if it was their childhood again. Izuku being scared to face him? Bullshit.

'You're lying,' he spat through gritted teeth.

Shouto sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. 'Fine. I'm here because I want to. I need to tell you something and it's in Izuku's best interest. He's aware of the situation, but he didn't actually want to. I'm just making the decision easier for him.'

Katsuki huffed, his pride swelling a little for being right, but his blood boiling for Shouto having the guts to stand in front of him and lie like that.

'Then what the hell are you here for?' Katsuki continued, tired of playing games.

'I need you to stop hanging out with him.' Shouto was straightforward with his request; demand really.

Katsuki blinked a couple of times before chuckling. 'You're kidding, right?'

Shouto narrowed his eyes, not liking how this was turning out. 'No, I'm not.'

Katsuki's face fell, his eyebrows drawn together as he frowned. 'You _need_ me to stop hanging out with him? Why the fuck..' he started.

Shouto put one hand on Katsuki's chest, pushing him aside and allowing himself in. He didn't care much for manners right now.

'I didn't fucking tell you to come in!' Katsuki snapped.

Shouto turned Katsuki's desk chair around and sat down on it. 'I know you didn't. It's considered quite rude.'

Sparks were going off in Katsuki's palms. He balled his hands into fists to contain them. He would only get his furniture insured so many times by the school before he had to pay for it himself.

'Why the fuck would I stop hanging out with him?' Katsuki spat. He hadn't forgotten the conversation he had a couple of days ago with Ejiro. He wanted to get past his crush on Izuku and move on with his life.

He was going to tell Izuku himself that the sessions had to stop, making up some lame excuse as how he had changed enough already and didn't need any more guidance. He wouldn't go to the lengths to hurt the nerd if he could.

All of this didn't mean he wasn't stubborn enough to throw his original plan aside and decide to hang out with Izuku after all, if only to spite Shouto.

Shouto sighed deeply. 'He still has feelings for you. You're enabling him to fall for you by letting him keep coming over. It's hurting him and I don't like seeing him like that, so you need to stop.'

'Hah!?' Katsuki exclaimed in disbelief. Izuku still had feelings for _him_!? Fuck! That couldn't be true, right?

'I know you still like him like that as well and I'm just afraid that he keeps seeing opportunities that aren't there.'

'Hold on a minute,' Katsuki interrupted, holding up his hand to stop Shouto from talking. 'What do you mean he still has feelings for me? Does that mean he's dumped you?'

Feelings of hope started fluttering in Katsuki's chest. He quickly suppressed them, knowing it wasn't right for him to feel like that.

If Izuku had indeed dumped Shouto, Katsuki would go and support him if needed, not try to become his next boyfriend this instant.

Shouto sighed yet again. Katsuki started to get agitated by the condescending sound. 'No, he hasn't dumped me. He still loves me very much, but he has admitted he also has feelings for you.'

'That doesn't make any sense,' Katsuki said.

'I'm aware,' Shouto added. 'It's making him very confused. It's hurting him. If you two could just stop hanging out, his feelings will eventually fade and so will yours. Then we'll all be able to move on as if nothing has happened.'

Katsuki's face started to twist into a snarl. 'And you're saying Izuku hasn't made this choice?' Katsuki snarled.

Shouto opened his mouth, wanting to say something but not finding the words. Eventually, the dual-user settled on a curt 'No.'

Katsuki's eyes started to glint mischievously. 'You're making this decision _for_ him?' he prodded.

Shouto swallowed thickly. He could see exactly where this was going.

'What does he want?'

Shouto's gaze flickered back to Katsuki's, meeting those ruby red eyes that were boring into his own.

'He… he told me he wanted both.'

Katsuki scoffed. He can't be serious. The painful look in Shouto's eyes told the blond otherwise, making his face fall. 'You're serious?'

Shouto nodded once.

'He wants to date us both?'

Shouto took a deep breath, trying to compose himself. 'That's what he told me,' he eventually settled on saying.

Katsuki's mind started to get blurry. The idea of that even being an option… it dazzled him.

'That's fucking crazy,' he muttered under his breath.

Shouto nodded. 'At least that's something we all agree on.'

Katsuki gripped his hair with his hands, still not quite understanding what the hell was going on. Something was still nagging at the back of his mind. 'He's aware that he likes me?'

Shouto mulled for a moment, before replying hesitantly. 'Yes.'

Katsuki gritted his teeth. 'Then why does he still come over? If he likes me and he knows I like _him_ , then why does he do this!?'

Shouto looked out the window, avoiding Katsuki's desperate gaze. 'I don't know. I thought I was learning how to understand him, but apparently I didn't. You've been his friend for years, so I thought you might know better.'

Katsuki cursed under his breath. 'I don't know shit about him anymore.'

Shouto pushed himself to his feet, slowly making his way towards the door. Before leaving, he turned around. 'Now you know how it is. I hope you'll leave him alone, understanding all of this.'

Katsuki didn't have a chance to react before the dual-user already closed the door behind him.

Katsuki made an agitated noise before dropping down onto the edge of his bed.

Katsuki had wanted to move on, wanted to look past his love for Izuku and focus on other things, but this made the situation so much more complicated.

How could that shitty half 'n half bastard expect him to leave Izuku alone after this? Katsuki had a _chance_.

He growled before throwing himself fully onto the bed, rolling over in frustration. No, he didn't. Izuku was still dating Shouto and this somewhat weird confession wouldn't change anything, if Katsuki could rely on what the dual-user had told him.

Izuku didn't want to leave Shouto and he didn't want to make a choice. He wanted _both_ of them.

Katsuki felt weird at that thought. It wasn't normal to want more than one person romantically. Not that Izuku was normal to begin with.

Katsuki groaned in agitation once more before flopping over and reaching out for his phone, opening his internet app angrily as he nearly punched a hole in the glass screen.

Katsuki felt at a complete loss as he desperately typed into his web browser. He couldn't even begin to think of anyone that could help him at the moment, so his best guess was to ask strangers on the internet.

He didn't feel fully satisfied as he pressed the sent button on the forum, but he knew that it would take a little while before he would get any kind of response.

He tossed his phone away, leaving it on silent so he wouldn't get disturbed as he laid down flat on the floor, straining his abdomen muscles as he did sit-ups until he felt sore and exhausted, temporarily forgetting everything.


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm sorry this update was so late! I was just so busy T_T**

 **On that note, this'll be the last chapter for tihs year as I'll take a small break for 2 to 3 weeks (max!) to focus on my exams and my own mental health.**

 **That being said: Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!**

* * *

Izuku stood at the edge of the gym, stretching his arms above his head. The class they just had, had been intense and Aizawa had ordered them to do a cooling down after they were done.

So Izuku was there, stretching before he was allowed to go change back into his regular uniform.

While walking to the changing rooms he was met with Shouto halfway. Shouto smiled at him softly, at which Izuku gave him a wide smile in return. It hadn't gone unnoticed that Shouto had started smiling more often and Izuku really liked it, so he tried to encourage the teen as much as he could to do so.

They chatted for a bit about their training before they went separate ways in the locker room to find their own belongings.

Shouto waited at the door for Izuku, turning to open it as they both left. When they exited the room, Izuku looked up in surprise, seeing Katsuki standing on the other end of the hall.

Katsuki's head turned to Izuku as he noticed the smaller boy. Katsuki moved over to the both of them, stopping in front of Izuku. 'Can we talk for a bit?' the blond asked.

Izuku smiled a little, failing to notice the tense atmosphere that enveloped Shouto and Katsuki. 'Yeah, sure!' Izuku replied happily.

Katsuki's gaze averted towards Shouto. Izuku looked at the both of them, an eyebrow raised, as they appeared to be in a silent stalemate.

'I'd rather talk with him alone,' Katsuki said.

Shouto looked displeased, but took a deep breath before turning to Izuku. 'I'll see you back at the dorm.'

Izuku was a bit taken aback. 'Oh, okay. I'll be there soon!'

With that, Shouto planted a quick kiss on Izuku's cheek before leaving, making Izuku turn red at the sudden display of affection. When Izuku turned back to Katsuki, the blond was already walking away.

He looked over his shoulder, jerking his head as if Izuku should've known to follow. Izuku jogged softly to catch up.

'What's up?' Izuku asked as they were walking on a steady pace throughout the building towards the exit. Izuku looked over at Katsuki, but his gaze was aimed at the ground.

'Your boyfriend came to talk to me yesterday.'

Izuku skidded to a halt, frowning. Katsuki turned around, his hands shoved in his pockets, his expression neutral.

'Why?' is all Izuku managed to ask.

Katsuki looked away again. He so badly wanted to tell the truth, to create drama between the two lovers, but somehow, he couldn't.

Izuku could see that Katsuki was gritting his teeth. A pit formed in his stomach. He can't think of a single reason why Shouto would go to Katsuki. Well… there were many _bad_ reasons, just no _good_ ones.

'He told me about your problem.'

Izuku held his breath. His mind was going a thousand miles a second. Why on Earth would Shouto tell Katsuki that without his permission? Why tell the blond at _all_!?

This only made things so much worse, because now Katsuki _knew_ that Izuku still liked him and even though the blond had been improving a lot, Izuku was afraid all of this was going to mess it up again.

Katsuki ran his hand through his hair, gripping the base of the spikes tightly. Then, he breathed out slowly. 'Look, just… calm down okay? I'm not going to do anything if you don't want me to I just.. I wanted you to know your options.'

Izuku's head was spinning. His options. His only options were Katsuki or Shouto. He already knew about those options, so why would Katsuki need to confirm that?

'For fuck's sake,' Katsuki muttered under his breath before stomping forward.

Izuku wanted to flinch, just barely having the sense of mind not to, as Katsuki reached out and grabbed his wrist, putting his hand out in front of him. Katsuki brought his own hand up to Izuku's, pushing something into the smaller boy's palm.

'Just take your time and look at this. If this is not what you want, you don't have to do anything. If it is, then you can just come to me. Okay?'

Izuku looked down at his clenched hand, then back up at Katsuki. Katsuki's brows were furrowed, but not in an angry way.

Izuku gazed back down, slowly unfolding his hand to reveal a piece of paper. He blinked a couple of times as Katsuki released his wrist and pulled away. 'What's this?' he finally managed to say.

'It might be a solution to your problem, or not. That's for you to decide. Just wanted to give you the option.'

Izuku lifted his other arm to unfold the paper, but Katsuki almost growled at him. 'Don't open it here you fucking nerd. Go back to your room, without the bastard, and see if this is what you want.'

With that, he shoved his hands back in his pockets and turned around, leaving Izuku behind dumbfounded.

* * *

Izuku sat on his bed with his legs folded. The piece of paper was lying ominously next to him, begging to be opened.

Izuku had felt bad to ask Shouto to leave, having to come up with a reason before the boy would get jealous and angry (even though Izuku had never really seen him angry), but in the end, Shouto had left him alone.

He tentatively reached out and picked up the paper, slowly unfolding it as if it would hide something bad that could jump out at him. Except, there was nothing bad.

Written at the top in a very messy handwriting stood one single word: _Polyamory._

Izuku's brows knitted together. It didn't sound like a real word and he certainly didn't know its meaning. Beneath it were some links to websites.

Izuku put the unfolded note down by his feet and reached out for his laptop, propping it up on his lap. His fingers glided across the keyboard as it typed in his main search engine.

He looked down at the note again. He couldn't understand how a single word could be a solution to his problem, especially one that looked this weird and surreal.

Izuku took in a deep breath before his hands hovered over his keyboard again. Izuku just wanted to get this over with and leave all of his confusion behind, and if Kacchan said it would help… well, he'd just have to trust that.

His fingers moved fast as he typed, pressing enter in satisfaction as the search bar read _Ok Google what is polyamory?_

A huge array of websites, videos and definitions instantly popped up on screen.

His eyes moved towards the big box at the top first. All it read was:

 _Polyamory  
/ˌpɒliˈam(ə)ri/_

 _Noun  
noun: polyamory  
the practice of engaging in multiple sexual relationships with the consent of all the people involved._

Izuku gulped. Izuku had heard of polygamy, where multiple people would marry one person. Usually it was a religious act where multiple women would marry one man. The idea made Izuku shudder.

He wanted to close the page, crumple up the paper and toss it out only to never think about it again, yet somehow, the idea also intrigued him. He had said he wanted both, right? Maybe this was the only way…

Izuku scrolled down a little and opened the Wikipedia page.

 _ **Terminology**_ _  
The word polyamory is derived from the word 'poly' in English (meaning multiple) and the word 'amore' in Latin (meaning love). Some reference works define it as a relational form that involves multiple people with the consent of all the people informed, others declare it as a philosophy of life._

Izuku's mind was reeling. He didn't know what all of this meant and if it was even useful to him. Somewhere he hoped there was some kind of online test to see if he was polyamorous…

He sighed and pressed his fingers to his temples. He wasn't polyamorous. Someone could be in a polyamorous relationship, not _be_ polyamorous.

Izuku looked back up and read more of the article.

 _ **Values within polyamory**_ _  
Some of the most common values within a polyamorous relationship are loyalty, trust, honesty, respect, communication, non-possessiveness and management of jealousy._

At least this made sense to Izuku. If multiple people were involved in a relationship together, there would need to be a certain aspect of communication and respect to make sure all parties involved would be happy.

He could also easily see how being with more than one person could lead to jealousy and if this wasn't talked out honestly, there could be great implications.

He tried to look at it from his point of view. If Izuku was in love with Shouto and Katsuki, he would be the middle person. He would be the center of attention and the person they could get jealous about. Shouto and Katsuki would need to be able to talk it out without getting into a fight and learn to share.

Izuku sighed heavily. He couldn't even slightly imagine any of them wanting to share without getting jealous.

Izuku clicked the Wikipedia page away and went to look at one of the other websites Katsuki had written down.

One of them lead to a page called _Myths about Polyamory._ Izuku felt a bit uncomfortable reading it. He wasn't even sure he wanted to go this path, so why would he do all this research?

Still, his curiosity getting the better of him, he started scrolling down.

 _Myth: People in polyamorous relationships don't get attached_

 _Fact: Mostly, the opposite is true, but instead of getting attached to one person, they become attached to multiple. It usually ends up in a very loyal relationship that equals "normal" relationships._

Izuku rubbed his eyes before reading that again. He could barely believe that would even be remotely true.

Throughout the years he was taught that a man should be with one woman (or another man, in this particular case) and that anything else would be considered cheating and would prove that they weren't loyal to their original partner.

Izuku was intrigued by all this new knowledge, but it also scared him. His stomach was fluttering anxiously as he scrolled to the next one.

 _Myth: People in polyamorous relationships usually only do it for sex_

 _Fact: While most people in polyamorous relationships do participate in sexual acts with two or more of the partners, the main aspect revolves around a healthy relationship based on love_

Izuku rolled his eyes. Why did everything in the world have to be about sex? Yes, it felt amazing and surely he had imagined doing it with Shouto (and Katsuki) on more than one occasion, but it was just a minor part of his relationship. He felt a stronger mental connection to either of them than physical and that was Izuku's main point of focus.

He scrolled down a little further, but all of the "myths" and "facts" were basically the same thing. It was all just myths about sex, emotions or misconceptions which were then disproved by the facts listed below.

All of the facts weren't really facts, though. They were things people in normal monogamous relationships did.

Izuku knew that relationships were based on love, trust, respect and communication. He didn't really see what made a polyamorous relationship any different than a normal one.

Izuku looked up from his screen. Oh. It really wasn't any different, was it?

With both Katsuki and Shouto he was already at such a level of trust and respect. Communication was a different point though, but that was a sore spot for all of them. They'd just have to work on that.

It was pretty clear to Izuku that this was indeed the solution to his problem. He had said he wanted both and he thought he just couldn't, but this proved him wrong.

Izuku shut his laptop and pushed it aside. He picked up the note. It was crumpled and the handwriting was smudged. Either Katsuki had been really frustrated writing this or it had been late at night. Probably both, Izuku thought.

Izuku let out a long sigh before falling back onto the bed, holding the note up in front of him. He knew what he wanted now: a polyamorous relationship. He wanted both of the boys and he finally knew he could.

Izuku let his arms fall down next to him in defeat. What would Shouto think? Izuku was sure that Katsuki had already approved of Izuku taking this path, seeing as Katsuki was the one to give him the note.

Izuku rolled over. He was scared for Shouto's reaction. The fact that Shouto had gone over to Katsuki's room to talk about Izuku's "problem" and hadn't told the boy afterwards probably meant that Shouto hadn't gone there to become friends with the blond.

Izuku felt a little sad at the thought of Shouto making the decision for him, even when he wasn't sure yet, though he could hardly blame the guy either.

Shouto had never really had anything for himself and the thought of losing Izuku would probably be hard on the guy. It didn't excuse his behavior, but Izuku could understand why.

Because Shouto had gone to Katsuki, making clear that the other had to back off (at least, that's what Izuku assumed), it was clear that Shouto had a certain possessiveness.

Izuku thought back on the info he just read. Non-possessiveness was a key aspect to a polyamorous relationship and Shouto would probably not take it well to be asked to share.

Izuku pushed himself upright, picking up the note and clenching it in his palm. He could stay here forever, wracking his brain over situations that would always stay uncertain unless he acted, or he could go and just ask.

He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and left the room.

* * *

Katsuki snarled, baring his teeth slightly, as someone knocked on his door and interrupted his thoughts _again_.

It took the blond enough energy to stay sane after giving that information to Izuku, so for someone to come bother him again was just plain _frustrating._

Still, Katsuki got off his chair and moved to the door, revealing Izuku standing there. Katsuki raised an eyebrow at him, seeing Izuku's cheeks tainted red.

'I.. I wanted to talk,' the smaller teen sputtered, putting the note out for Katsuki to take.

Katsuki didn't take it. Instead he turned around, leaving the door open for Izuku to follow him.

Katsuki sat down on his bed, his legs crossed as he watched Izuku close the door behind him. Izuku walked in, awkwardly taking a position opposite of Katsuki.

'Was anything unclear?' Katsuki asked, taking the initiative.

Izuku's eyes flickered up to Katsuki's before he shook his head. 'No, no, it was all pretty clear. I just.. I don't..'

'You don't know what to do now.' It wasn't a question, but a statement. Izuku slowly nodded.

Katsuki knew that it would end up like this. After hearing from Shouto that Izuku had wanted both of them and not wanting to make a choice, he knew that this is what Izuku initially wanted, he just didn't have a word for it. He knew the guy better than he'd give credit for.

When he left a question about dating two people at the same time on one of the internet forums he encountered, he was quickly directed to the same pages he had given to Izuku.

Even though Katsuki wasn't a huge fan of the half 'n half bastard, he couldn't deny Izuku his happiness. If this is what the guy wanted, Katsuki would find a way to make it work.

Sure, there were a lot of things that needed to be discussed before anything of this could ever happen, but Katsuki supposed that that was why Izuku was here now.

'Have you talked to Todoroki?' Katsuki asked. He just hoped Izuku understood that this wasn't meant to be cheating or an open relationship, but something they all consented to.

'No, not yet. I didn't.. I didn't know what to tell him.'

Katsuki suppressed the urge to chuckle. Of course he wouldn't. If there was any chance of the other party involved getting hurt, Izuku would rather avoid it than face it head-on.

'But this is what you want?' Katsuki pressed.

Izuku nodded fervently. 'Yeah. When I was looking it up it just felt like.. like this is what I wanted all along. I just didn't know it was an option.'

Katsuki could understand that. It wasn't normal, but it was an option. Katsuki looked into Izuku's eyes. The smaller boy seemed so determined, yet at the same time so insecure.

'You get that it isn't really normal to ask your boyfriend to date someone else as well, right?'

Izuku gulped. Katsuki knew that Izuku realized that.

'I'm just afraid he doesn't get it. I'm not even sure if you do,' Izuku admitted, redirecting his gaze to his hands fiddling with the hem of his shirt.

Katsuki had to stop himself from clicking his tongue. 'You're right, I don't get it. I know you love that guy and that you're dating him, so I don't see why you'd always fall in love with me. It seems stupid.'

Katsuki could see Izuku's shoulders slump.

'But I know it'd make you happy and that's why I'm willing to try.'

Izuku looked up, a certain twinkle in his eyes. Katsuki looked away, heat creeping up to his cheeks.

'If it doesn't work, we can always call it quit.'

Izuku hummed softly in agreement.

Even from Katsuki's point of view, it seemed stupid. He would get to share the person he loved with someone else.

He wasn't quite sure how any of it would work. Would they make a time schedule on who gets him when? He wasn't a dog or some child after a divorce.

He wanted Izuku full-time, twenty-four seven, just all for himself, but somewhere deep inside, he could agree with this.

Izuku let his face fall into his hands. 'How would I ever tell him? How does this thing even work?'

The boy seemed plagued by the same questions that were stirring inside of Katsuki's mind.

Katsuki ran his hand through his spikes. 'I don't fucking know, but we'll figure it out. Got it?'

Izuku looked up from his hands, tears gathered at the corners of his eyes. Geez, that guy cried way too easily.

Katsuki shifted uncomfortably, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and leaning back. 'I think it's best if you tell that guy on your own. If I'm there he'll just think I talked you into it.'

'But you didn't!' Izuku argued.

Katsuki looked over at the boy, which immediately shut him up. 'I know I didn't, but he doesn't really like me and the feeling is mutual.'

Izuku looked sad. Katsuki rolled his eyes this time.

'How many fucking times do I have to tell you this? I'm doing this for you.' He gritted his teeth. 'If this means I'll have to throw away my pride and my stupid selfish desires, then so be it. I'm going through with this if this is what you want, even if I don't like that guy and he doesn't like me. You understand now?'

Izuku wiped at his eyes before looking back up again and nodding.

'And then when you're done explaining everything to him, you can come back here and we'll talk about it.'

Izuku nodded again. Katsuki watched as the boy slowly crawled off the bed, lingering on the edge. When Izuku looked back, Katsuki almost forgot to breath.

The boy smiled so genuinely, seeming so happy now that his mind was finally settling down, a warm fuzzy feeling was coursing through Katsuki's veins.

'Thank you,' Izuku said.

A pink blush covered Katsuki's cheeks as he turned away. 'Anything for you,' he muttered.

Izuku pushed himself off the bed. 'I'll talk with him this weekend.'

Katsuki watched Izuku disappear as the boy closed the door behind him. Having seen Izuku so happy, so carefree again, it had made Katsuki so happy too…

For once, instead of making him agitated at the thought he'd have to share, he smiled.

* * *

 **Thank you so much for reading this story.**

 **I constantly forget to reply to all of your comments but I read them and I love every single one of them, I really do! So thank you, I love y'all and see you in a couple of weeks 3**


	12. Through Love and Understanding

Izuku was sitting at the head of a table at a café. On his left side there was Shouto, while on his other side there was Katsuki.

Izuku could feel his heart pounding. After he had left Katsuki's room he had taken a little while to gather his thoughts before he went to discuss everything with Shouto.

Having to explain polyamory and, moreover, why he had discovered this hadn't been easy.

Izuku knew that Shouto was trying to understand, but every time the boy tried to explain something, Shouto's brows would draw together.

With every sentence he spoke, Izuku started to feel more insecure. How many different ways of explaining that this wasn't cheating and that he _hadn't_ been cheating did the dual-user need!?

In the end, Izuku managed to convince him to go have a talk with Katsuki.

When Katsuki opened the door and his eyes fell on Izuku and his boyfriend, the blond's mouth had started to tug into a smile.

Before Katsuki could say anything, Shouto had interrupted that nothing had been decided yet and that he had simply showed up to gather more information.

At that point, Izuku had considered retreating to his room and wrapping himself in a pile of blankets rather than having this conversation.

But, as always, it didn't go as Izuku's anxiety wanted, and instead they had agreed to go to a café to talk this out rather than staying in one of their rooms.

Choosing a public place was the obvious chose, considering that if they chose either of their rooms, one of the three would have the upper hand regarding feeling comfortable and safe. The common room of the dorm was definitely out of the question; they all knew enough people that'd stick their noses where they didn't belong. In the end, it was a very awkward trip to a nearby café.

The café was quite trendy and had apparently just opened. It was mostly known for having booths that gave their customers a little privacy, something that the three of them desperately needed at this point.

As soon as the waitress had put down their food and drinks and shut the door behind her, all hell broke loose.

'Why are you telling Izuku about these things?' Shouto asked, narrowing his eyes at Katsuki.

Izuku opened his mouth to argue, to defend Katsuki, but the blond cut him off.

'You were the one that told me he was confused. I was just making his options clear.'

'You are only confusing him more.'

'The fuck? I'm not. He came to me saying this is what he wanted!'

Shouto closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Izuku wanted to praise him for keeping his cool, but as soon as the dual-user opened his eyes again, they were cold as ice.

'I'm sure this is not what he wants.'

Hurt. That's what Izuku felt at this moment. He had tried so hard to explain his feelings to Shouto, to make clear that this is indeed what he wanted. They had been talking about it for _three hours_ for crying out loud!

Katsuki directed his gaze towards Izuku, who cowered a little in his seat.

'What do you want?' Katsuki asked, trying hard to keep his voice level in favor of not showing the agitation he was feeling towards Shouto.

Izuku took a deep breath and straightened his back.

'I want to try a polyamorous relationship,' he said, his voice shaking. Izuku could see that Shouto sighed. He shrunk again.

Katsuki narrowed his eyes at Shouto. 'You're not taking this seriously,' he accused.

'What you're asking is unreasonable and unheard of, it can't be right,' Shouto replied.

'If it was so unheard of, then why are there dozens of internet webpages filled with information on the matter?' Katsuki scoffed.

Shouto opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out. After a few seconds, he closed it again.

'Just because you're not open-minded enough to understand it, doesn't mean it's unreasonable.'

Katsuki shifted to face Izuku again. 'Did you talk to him?'

Izuku lifted his head and nodded slightly.

'Did he understand?'

'I'm sitting right here,' Shouto intervened, but Katsuki lifted his hand which made Shouto shut up.

Izuku chewed on his lower lip before shaking his head.

Katsuki sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. 'Alright, let's start from scratch then,' Katsuki started, picking up his drink and taking a sip. 'Polyamory is a form of relationship where one person is dating multiple people, or multiple people are dating each other.'

'I got that,' Shouto said, sounding offended at having to hear this all over again.

'Then what don't you get?' Katsuki snapped back.

'I don't get why he can love two people! He promised me he would be mine and get over you, so why is he coming back to you?'

Oh. So that's what was bothering Shouto.

Izuku felt immensely bad. Even though Izuku had tried to emphasize a million times that he loved the both of them just as much, Shouto must've been thinking he was losing him.

'Shouto,' Izuku whispered as he reached out to grab the dual-user's hand, but he pulled it away. Izuku could see tears in the corners of Shouto's eyes.

Shouto turned to Izuku, his eyes full of hurt, his face showing more emotion than Izuku was used to. His voice broke on what he said next. 'Am I not enough!?'

Izuku knew that this is what heartbreak felt like, because right now, he could physically feel his heart breaking into a dozen tiny pieces and ground to dust.

He wanted to console Shouto, to tell him he was enough, that this wasn't about Shouto not being enough and that it was something even Izuku couldn't understand, but when Izuku tried to talk, no words came out. Instead, tears started prickling his eyes as well.

Izuku could hear Katsuki cursing under his breath as Izuku wiped his face with the back of his sleeve.

Katsuki sighed deeply. 'It's not about being enough,' Katsuki offered. 'It's about falling for two completely different people, equally.'

Izuku simply nodded in agreement. He hated how Katsuki was leading the conversation, rather than him, the person that created this entire mess, but he was also glad Katsuki was trying to make it work.

'I don't exactly know why this guy,' Katsuki jerked a thumb at Izuku, 'likes the both of us either, but I can see it makes him happy to be with both of us, which is why I'm trying to make an effort. Do you care more about keeping him to yourself and let yourself be happy, or about him being happy?'

Shouto looked away. Izuku wanted to reach out and comfort him, but he didn't know how. Eventually, he found his voice again.

'I don't know how it got to this either,' he admitted, 'because I always thought I could only love one person. At first, that person was Kacchan and later I learned to love you too.'

Izuku turned to Shouto to address him properly. 'I thought that if I loved you that much, there was no way I could still love Kacchan, but as I tried to help him, the feelings were still there and it felt wrong because I… I knew you deserved more.'

This made Shouto look back up. His eyes were red and puffy. Izuku was only slightly distracted by how cute he looked despite the situation. Still, he kept going.

'I knew you deserved more than what I could give you. I was someone that couldn't get over his childhood crush and it distracted and confused me and I thought that if I just pushed it down I could forget about it and pay more attention to you. I never thought it'd confuse me this much.'

Shouto looked down at his hands. His voice was soft and quiet as he spoke. 'I never deserved you.'

Izuku glanced over to Katsuki, who was quietly watching the both of them as they worked this out.

Izuku snickered softly and in return and Shouto narrowed his eyes at him.

'We both think that we don't deserve the other, that's kinda funny isn't it?' Izuku said.

He noticed how the corners of Shouto's lips curled up ever so slightly. 'I guess it is.'

Shouto reached up and wiped his eyes. Izuku hesitated for a moment before reaching out again and taking a hold of Shouto's hand. The warmth of the touch radiated through his body.

'You've always been more to me than I could've imagined,' Izuku said. Shouto stared intently as Izuku talked. 'But I don't know why I decided to be like this, if it was even a decision at all. I just knew that the more time I spent with both of you, I loved you equally.'

'But you've known Bakugou much longer than you've known me,' Shouto added.

Izuku hummed softly. 'Yeah, that's true. Doesn't that make it even crazier that I've fallen so much for you in such a short amount of time?'

Now Shouto was giving him a real smile.

From the corner of his eyes, Izuku could see Katsuki smirk. With a small pout on his face, Izuku turned to Katsuki.

'What?' he asked, nearly snapping it. It was a touching moment, a reaffirmation of his love for Shouto, and Katsuki was laughing about it.

Katsuki tried to compose his face, but his lips stayed curled up. 'Nothing. Just thinking you two were too goddamn cheesy.'

Izuku swatted at the blond with his free hand. 'You were the one that initiated all of this!' he accused.

Katsuki caught Izuku's hand in midair, bringing it back to the table, essentially keeping Izuku trapped on both sides now.

'I did it because I wanted to see you happy,' Katsuki stated.

Blood rushed to Izuku's face as Katsuki said it. It was such a bold statement that Izuku wanted to hide, but neither of the other boys were letting go of his hands.

Katsuki turned back to Shouto. 'Can we both agree that we're doing this for De… Izuku's happiness?'

Shouto nodded. Katsuki reached out to take a sip from his drink. Shouto did the same. Izuku just looked, his gaze shifting between both of them as it stayed eerily quiet.

'So… now what?' Izuku asked. Both Izuku and Shouto stared at Katsuki, who frowned.

'Why are you looking at me? I don't know shit either.'

'You were the one that gave me the info,' Izuku offered.

Shouto shrugged. 'I thought you knew more about this.'

A small blush crept to Katsuki's face. He looked away before either of them could notice.

'How much has this guy told you?' he said, nodding at Izuku.

Shouto brought his hand to his chin to think about it. 'He said that polyamory was a consensual relationship, so that means we all have to agree, right?'

Izuku gulped. 'We do, right?'

They both looked at Izuku as if he'd gone crazy.

'Are you even paying attention? We just said that,' Katsuki replied.

Izuku sighed of relief, before smiling softly again. 'Okay.'

'He said it's not like an open relationship,' Shouto continued.

'It's because I don't want to have anyone else. I want to be committed to the two of you,' Izuku said.

Both Katsuki and Shouto nodded. They seemed to like that idea.

'He also said it's about openness, communication and not getting jealous.'

At that, Katsuki gritted his teeth.

Izuku raised an eyebrow at him. 'Is there a problem?' he asked, trying to wriggle his hands free so he could take a sip of his drink as well but to no avail.

Katsuki looked down at Izuku's hand in his. 'I'm not very good at communication and openness,' he admitted. 'And I think he isn't very good at not getting jealous.' He stared accusingly at Shouto.

Shouto's brows knitted together. 'That might be true, but I'm willing to make an effort.'

Izuku wanted to hit himself. Honesty and openness was key in a relationship like this, but to outright admit you'll get jealous… 'It's something we'll all work on,' Izuku interjected before the two of them could argue anymore.

The boys both grumbled in agreement.

The tense atmosphere slowly started to disappear. As everyone started to relax more, they let go of Izuku's hands who could finally start on his drink.

'So, how does this work?' Shouto asked, reaching out for his soba.

Katsuki's curry-filled spoon hovered in the air as he raised an eyebrow at Shouto. 'What do you mean, how does this work? It's just a relationship,' he said, shoving the spoon in his mouth.

'But we'll share him, right? Then who gets him on which day? What will be the agreement on that?'

It was a bad time for Izuku to start on his miso as he nearly choked. When he looked up, broth dripping from the side of his mouth, he could see the gentle smile on Shouto's face.

The dual-user barely ever made jokes and it was kind of weird to see, considering the situation, but it also made Izuku feel more at ease.

Katsuki raised an eyebrow at Izuku before looking down at his curry again. 'We're not in a divorce you idiot,' he grumbled. Izuku chuckled softly.

They ate in silence for a while, their meals already half-cold as they finally took their first bites due to their lengthy discussion.

When they finished, Shouto straightened his back and put his hands on the table. 'In all seriousness, I have no clue how any of this'll go and, if possible, I'd like to set some rules.'

Katsuki downed the last of his drink. 'Yeah, I can agree with that.'

They both turned to stare at Izuku. Heat rose to his cheeks as the eyes of both his lovers – was that what they were now? – bore into him.

'Uh.. Well..,' Izuku started, 'I think we should.. uhm.. foremost agree on that uh.. that we are.. dating now?' he said hesitantly.

Katsuki clicked his tongue. 'Do you really need to hear that three times?'

Izuku pouted a little. He knew he could expect such a response, but he just wanted to be sure.

'I am not dating Bakugou, though,' Shouto spoke up.

Izuku flushed red again. 'Ah, that's okay! I didn't.. didn't expect you to want to.. uhm.. date each other.'

Izuku stole a glance as he saw Shouto and Katsuki exchange looks.

'So the basis of this relationship is that me and him are both dating you,' Katsuki recapped.

Izuku nodded. 'Y-yeah. As for time dividing… I don't think we should make any rules on that. I'll try my best to spend equal amounts of time with both of you but… if I want to be with one of you over the other, I don't want you to get mad at me.'

Izuku wanted this rule to make sure that he could decide who he needed when. Sometimes when he felt down, he would need someone to just hold him and be there for him, like Shouto, but at other times he would need someone that would be firm with him and tell him to get over it, like Katsuki.

Izuku would prefer that all three of them could hang out together, but knowing that Shouto and Katsuki had trouble being around each other for longer periods of time, it would be good for him to set his boundaries.

'I can agree with that,' Shouto replied. Katsuki grunted in agreement.

'Also,' Izuku spoke up, feeling more confident with every word spoken. 'I don't want you to tell everyone that we're doing this.'

'You want to hide our relationship?' Katsuki questioned, sounding a bit offended.

Izuku fidgeted with the hem of his shirt underneath the table, his confidence disappearing almost as fast as he had gained it.

'It's not really about hiding it, but it's still not socially accepted. I don't want to cause the school or anyone any inconvenience.'

Katsuki leaned back and crossed his arms. 'I don't really agree, but okay.'

In the corner of Izuku's eyes he could see Shouto raise a hand. He had to suppress a laugh before addressing him.

'I want to propose a trial period. This kind of relationship is new to all of us and if it doesn't work out the way we imagined, I don't want to end it on a bad note.'

Izuku felt a little discouraged by that. A trial period? What does that even mean?

'Let's say we take a month and see if it works out. If it doesn't, it's Izuku's decision who of us he wants to go on with and neither of us will blame him.'

'I don't really like that,' Izuku cut in. He looked at the table as the other two stared at him, before resolutely looking up and at them.

'I don't want a trial period. I want this to work, no matter how much effort we have to put into this.'

Katsuki sighed. 'Look, I know you want this very badly, but be realistic. We are still in high-school, we're young and, honestly, usually the three of us are pretty fucking reckless. There's a big chance that we'll break up before the end of the year.'

'Then let it be!' Izuku said, louder than needed, slamming his palms on the table.

'If that's how we'll end up, then so be it! The both of you are making a bigger deal out of this than necessary. It's just a relationship like any other. The only difference is that I'm dating two of you instead of one. All it requires is more communication, understanding and patience, nothing more!'

Shouto and Katsuki were staring at Izuku, whose face had become red from the outburst. They blink a couple of times before they gather their thoughts.

'He's right.'

Izuku looked over to Katsuki.

'We're making a bigger deal out of this than necessary.'

Shouto nodded. 'I agree.'

He looked over to Izuku. 'I'm sorry. It's still a bit hard for me to understand, but I'm trying.'

Izuku exhaled the breath he was holding before carefully sitting back down again.

The tension slowly grew as nobody spoke anymore. After a long silence, Izuku got startled by the sounds of a chair being shoved backwards.

'How about we go back? It's getting pretty late,' Katsuki said, already at the door that led back to the rest of the café.

Shouto got to his feet as well, looking down at Izuku as he got up to leave too.

They put on their coats before paying their bills and winding through the dark streets, their faces only illuminated by the streetlights lining the road.

* * *

Izuku laid down in his bed. It felt quite empty without Shouto being there and, after Shouto had refused, Katsuki had also denied joining him, saying that it was too soon after they agreed to go out.

Shouto had declined going back to his room, claiming that he needed some time for himself to think about all of this.

Before leaving, he promised that he would not back out of this, but just wanted a little while to consider how to go about all of this to make sure the three of them could work.

When Shouto finally left for his own room after pecking Izuku on the lips, only him and Katsuki were left.

It had been kind of awkward at first, seeing as they went from a terrible denial, to helping Katsuki change himself, to dating in just little over a month.

Still, Izuku could swear he had never seen Katsuki look so happy and at peace with everything. It warmed Izuku's heart.

Izuku rolled over. He knew that things were not going to be easy from here on out. He was now dating Shouto and Katsuki, both at the same time, but the two boys weren't dating each other.

Izuku was fine with that, but he knew it was a wasted opportunity. The two of them had so much in common that they didn't know about…

He pulled his knees up to his chest. This would make everything more complicated, having to divide his time and attention.

Yet, with every problem popping into his mind, he realized that he didn't mind. He had something he never thought he would have, something he never thought was possible and now that he had it, he wasn't going to let it go.

Izuku yawned. Even though today had been quite uneventful, he felt exhausted. All of the emotions that had coursed through his body left him drained.

He closed his eyes, softly humming to himself contently. He wondered how it would be if Shouto and Katsuki dated too…


	13. Hot Cocoa and Butterflies

Izuku pulled on the laces of his skates, making sure they're fastened properly before tucking them behind the leather. He glanced over at Katsuki who was still busy by tying them.

Izuku pushed himself off the bench, pulling his beanie over his ears. Standing on skates felt weird and it strained the muscles in his legs that kept him balanced.

He looked over at the ice rink that was filled with dozens of people, all of them seeming to have fun.

Izuku looked over his shoulder in surprise as Katsuki's hand gripped tightly onto his shoulder as the blond's legs were shaking.

'Are you sure you want to do this?' Izuku asked.

Katsuki narrowed his eyes at him, which made Izuku snort. 'I can skate perfectly fine, thank you very much,' Katsuki snapped back, his voice not carrying any heat.

'If you say so,' Izuku replied, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

He took a step forward, feeling Katsuki's grip tighten as he wobbled to the entrance of the rink.

Izuku stepped onto the ice, turning around to watch as Katsuki eyed it suspiciously. Izuku chuckled. The sight was absolutely adorable. For once, Katsuki looked lost.

Luckily, Izuku was there to guide him. He held out his hand for Katsuki to take, but Katsuki only glared at it before stepping onto the ice as well, his knees shaking as he tried to stay upright.

'We can do something else,' Izuku offered.

'I can skate!' Katsuki assured him. With small movements, Katsuki started making his way forward towards Izuku. Every step seemed insecure, as if he was afraid of falling.

After watching Katsuki struggle to move ten feet forward, Izuku skated right past him, turning around with an amused smile. Katsuki's brows knitted together, not liking the fact that Izuku was so much better at this than him.

'There's no shame in admitting you can't do something, y'know,' Izuku tried. He chuckled as he got a growl in return. 'Fine, then don't accept my help,' he said, turning around and moving away.

'I'll be ahead,' he said, not turning around as he pushed away from the ice.

He can't remember the last time his mom had taken him out to go skating, but he had always enjoyed it. His first few times hadn't gone without a struggle either.

He vividly remembered how he kept tripping over his own feet and falling. Every time something like that happened, his mom would come up to him and pick him up, take his hands in hers as they moved forward.

Izuku nearly finished an entire lap before noticing that Katsuki had barely moved from where Izuku had left him.

He watched from a distance as Katsuki stared at the people passing by, his gaze directed at the ground. Izuku tilted his head, not quite sure what Katsuki's course of action was, until the blond started to move, pushing the ice away with his skates as he tried to mimic the movements of everyone around him.

Izuku watched in awe, quite amazed by how fast Katsuki was picking it up, until the blond tripped and fell face first onto the ice. Izuku covered his mouth with his hands, trying to suppress his laughter.

He could see Katsuki cursing at the ground and everything around him, so Izuku decided to skate towards him and extended his hand.

Katsuki stared at him, his cheeks turning red as he realized that Izuku had seen him fall, before looking away and accepting the help.

Izuku pulled him to his feet, wrapping his arms around Katsuki's waist to hold him close. 'Are you going to let me help you now?' Izuku teased.

Katsuki looked away, slightly embarrassed. 'Fine,' he said through gritted teeth.

Izuku leaned forward, placing his lips on Katsuki's cheek. Katsuki whipped his head around, the blush on his face becoming even more visible.

Finally, Izuku let go of Katsuki's waist and instead took hold of his hand, gently guiding the both of them forward.

Even as Katsuki flailed around, Izuku tightened his grip to make sure Katsuki wouldn't fall as they both slowly went around.

After a couple of laps and nearly seven collisions with kids that weren't paying attention to their surroundings, Katsuki was getting the hang of it. He pulled his hand from Izuku's grip and went for it.

Izuku couldn't do anything but smile as he saw his boyfriend go on his own. Izuku felt happy. He truly did. Even though he'd wanted for Shouto to be there as well, to finally have an actual date with just Katsuki was nice.

After all the stress of having to decide on whether or not a polyamorous relationship was the right choice for them, it was relaxing to do such a carefree activity.

Still, seeing all the ice, it made Izuku think about Shouto. He felt a little guilty, going on a date with his "new" boyfriend almost immediately after deciding they'd try, but Shouto had assured it was fine.

' _You don't mind?' Izuku asked._

' _Why would I? He's your boyfriend too, right?' Shouto had responded casually._

 _Izuku chewed on his lower lip. That much was true, but it still felt weird. They had just agreed on dating like this a couple of days ago. 'I can stay here if you want,' Izuku offered._

 _Shouto's hands stopped plucking at Izuku's curls, and he stared down at the smaller boy. 'I told you it was fine. If you want to go with him on a date, you should go.'_

 _Izuku pushed himself up so he could face Shouto. 'But it just doesn't feel right.'_

' _Why not?'_

 _Izuku averted his gaze towards the bedsheets, tracing circles on it with his finger. He simply shrugged._

' _Izu.'_

 _Izuku looked up, staring into those dual-colored eyes he'd grown so fond of._

' _I want you to go on a date with him.'_

 _Izuku's eyebrows knitted together. 'Why would you_ _ **want**_ _me to go on a date with someone else?'_

 _Shouto sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. 'Seriously, Izu, first you make me worry about our entire relationship by wanting to date him too, and now that I'm giving you the go, you don't want to. It's giving me a headache.'_

 _A pit formed in Izuku's stomach. He started fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. It didn't really make any sense for him to refuse going on a date with Katsuki at this point and he was being unreasonably difficult by trying to think of Shouto's feelings if this is what the dual-user was thinking._

' _I'm sorry,' Izuku said, wringing his hands together._

 _Shouto reached out, taking Izuku's hands in his. Izuku looked up._

' _I could use some alone time and you should have the opportunity to build a real bond with him, not the one you created since your childhood.'_

Shouto was right. The relationship he'd build with Katsuki over the years had become toxic as time went on and being childhood friends wasn't the same as being lovers.

Katsuki had been dropping hints of wanting to go on a proper date with Izuku, so after he was sure that Shouto was okay with it, he had told Katsuki that he had Sunday off.

He had left Katsuki in charge of the day and was quite surprised when he was told to come in warm clothes.

At first Izuku had been scared that they were going to go hiking; it really wasn't the season for outdoor activities. After assuring Izuku that they weren't going to climb a mountain, Izuku had followed Katsuki's dress code and let Katsuki lead them to their destination, which turned out to be a skating rink.

Now, as Izuku watched Katsuki go around, grinning as if he'd always known how to skate and was a natural born talent, butterflies fluttered in his stomach.

Izuku watched Katsuki skate another lap at a speed he shouldn't be going at before catching up and taking hold of Katsuki's hand, this time not to keep him upright but as a display of affection.

Katsuki slowed down, their movements quickly matching up as they steadily went around, shooting each other looks and laughing as the other nearly tripped. It was a simple date, really, but that's the kind Izuku liked most.

They went on like that for a while, chatting about all sort of things – their grades, how their moms were, future date ideas – until Izuku noticed that Katsuki's knees were shaking.

Knowing that the blond still had a little bit of pride left in himself even after changing so much, he knew that the blond wasn't going to give in first. So Izuku took the initiative.

'I'm tired,' Izuku said as they got close to the rink entrance.

Katsuki scoffed. 'Already? I'm barely warmed up.'

'Kacchan,' Izuku whined.

Katsuki's grin faltered. He looked away, a soft blush on his cheeks. After a moment of silence he spoke up. 'I guess I'm pretty beat up too.'

They moved aside and away from the steady stream of skaters, both stumbling a bit as they walked on normal ground again.

Izuku pulled the white leather boots off his feet, rubbing the sore spots the tight boots had created.

'You okay?' Katsuki asked, bend over as he was untying his own pair.

Izuku smiled. 'Yeah, just a bit sore. I'll be fine.'

Katsuki pulled off his black skate in one quick movement, hissing as it came off. Izuku chuckled, which earned him a glare.

'Everybody has that the first time they skate. It'll pass,' Izuku assured him.

'It hurts like hell,' Katsuki complained, his lip curled up in distaste as he rubbed his own feet.

Izuku scooted over, their hips touching, laying his head down on Katsuki's shoulder. 'If you can make it until we get back home I'll make you feel better,' Izuku said.

'Oh?' Katsuki said, turning to face Izuku.

Izuku lifted his head, looking at Katsuki, not quite understanding his response until he saw Katsuki's mischievous grin and raised eyebrow. He instantly flushed red. 'I meant a foot rub!' Izuku blurted out, flailing his hands in front of him.

Katsuki chuckled as he put on his shoes. 'Sure you do,' he said as he pushed himself up from the bench.

'Shall we go?' he asked, looking down at Izuku.

Izuku looked at his phone. 'It's a bit early to go back home, don't you think?' he said, not quite wanting this to end yet.

'Who said anything about going home?'

Izuku looked up as Katsuki started walking away. He quickly got to his feet as well, feeling a bit uneasy from the ache in his feet, but easily catching up as Katsuki was waiting at the end of the hall.

Katsuki reached out and Izuku happily intertwined their fingers as Katsuki led them through the halls towards the end, pushing open a wooden door that led to a cozy ski-hut themed café at the other end of the rink. The floor was raised and the wall was lined with windows to be able to oversee all the skaters.

Katsuki's grip on Izuku's hand tightened as Izuku felt unstable on his feet while climbing the stairs towards the top deck, taking a seat right next to the glass wall.

Katsuki ordered hot cocoa and apple pie for the both of them as they looked out over the white sheet of ice.

'Do you think it's real or fake?' Izuku asked.

'You mean the ice?' Katsuki replied. Izuku hummed in agreement. 'Real. I've seen those fake rinks. They had them at the winter festival back in the day.'

'Oh yeah!' Izuku said, remembering the small festival that his mom took him to each year. Everything was winter themed, from the decoration to the treats, and they had a small ice rink.

It wasn't cold enough to make actual ice, though, so they settled on those plates that fit together like puzzle pieces and looked like ice but didn't feel like it at all.

'There were no lines in the ice, so this must be the real deal,' Katsuki said. Izuku nodded.

It didn't take long before the waiter put down their pie and cocoa and Izuku happily reached out, wrapping his hands around the warm mug.

Even though they were both silent as they ate and drank, it wasn't awkward. Everything felt at place as Izuku sipped from his cocoa.

'You've got cream on your upper lip,' Katsuki pointed out.

Heat pooled into Izuku's cheeks and he quickly started licking his upper lip to get rid of the stuff.

Katsuki just chuckled. 'Here,' he said, reaching out and wiping the remainders of the whipped cream from Izuku's face with a napkin.

Izuku looked away, unable to look at Katsuki from feeling flustered.

He picked up his apple pie to distract himself and took a bite. 'Hmm. This is really good!' he commented.

From Katsuki's side, he heard a soft hum. Izuku looked over at Katsuki, who was staring out the window, seemingly lost in thought. After a moment, Katsuki blinked a couple of times, glancing over at Izuku who was still staring at him. Then he swiped his phone out of his pocket.

'Eat up,' Katsuki ordered. 'We should get going.'

Izuku pouted a little. The pie was really good and he wanted to savor it, but they ran out of time, so he shoveled it in his mouth.

Katsuki already got up to pay, leaving Izuku to gulp down the rest of his cocoa, his throat practically burning as he jumped to his feet and followed Katsuki outside.

Katsuki was already waiting at the exit, hand outstretched as Izuku smiled and took it, effectively ending their day together.

* * *

Izuku plopped down on the bed next to Shouto, face buried in the pillow and his legs kicking up and down.

'Had fun today?' Shouto asked.

Izuku sighed and rolled over. 'I can't believe how romantic that was,' Izuku replied. 'It made me feel all fuzzy.' He placed his hands on his belly, as if he could physically feel the butterflies

'Bakugou romantic?' Shouto asked, sounding amused.

Izuku pouted as he looked over at him. 'Yes, he was.'

He pushed himself upright, settling himself next to Shouto and placing his head on the dual-user's shoulder. 'He took me ice skating and it was a lot of fun, because he was actually really bad at it,' Izuku continued.

Shouto snorted, a sound that Izuku barely ever heard. He glanced up to see Shouto covering his mouth with his hand. A smile forced its way onto Izuku's face as well at the sight. '

What's so funny?' Izuku said, trying to sound offended but failing miserably.

Shouto took a deep breath before talking, the smile still present. 'I just imagined Bakugou falling onto his face.'

Izuku swatted at Shouto. 'That's mean!' he said, not being able to suppress his own laughter.

'Okay, yeah, that happened,' he eventually admitted, earning him yet another one of Shouto's rare chuckles. 'But it was really cute to see him get all flustered when I offered to help him.'

Shouto wrapped his arm around Izuku's shoulder, pulling him closer and resting their heads together. 'Am I cute too?' he asked.

Izuku tried to look up, but with Shouto's head resting against his he couldn't make out any of his facial expression. Instead of feeling flustered, Izuku reached out, sliding his free hand in Shouto's hair and shifting his head so he could press their lips together.

When he pulled away, he could see that Shouto's cheeks were tainted red. Izuku smiled. 'You always are.'

At that, Shouto's face became even more red, the color nearly matching that of his scar. He turned away, trying to hide the blush with his hands. His face still covered by his hands, he tried to change the topic, his voice coming out muffled.

'Was that all you did?'

Izuku leaned back on the pillow. 'He also treated me to hot cocoa and pie. It tasted really good, you should go there with me sometime too!'

Shouto composed his face before leaning back against Izuku.

'Sadly, we still have a curfew, so we didn't have much longer.'

'You didn't want to go back yet?' Shouto asked.

Izuku shook his head. 'It was really nice, hanging out with him like that. It's kind of weird, considering our past. We're supposed to know each other so well, but we barely do. Now we have the time to really get to know each other. It's.. different.' Shouto hummed in understanding.

Izuku's time with Katsuki had flown by and he wished he could just had a little longer, but it didn't matter that much; they'd see each other more than enough.

'Seems fun,' Shouto commented.

Izuku smiled. 'Yeah it was.'

Shouto nuzzled his face a little deeper into Izuku's green curls, while Izuku nibbled on his lower lip. He didn't know if he should share all the details of his date with Katsuki to his other boyfriend and he could only imagine that Shouto wasn't interested in knowing that he and Katsuki had kissed.

Kissing Katsuki had been so much different than kissing Shouto. Katsuki's lips were surprisingly soft and warm, but had a certain heat behind them as he moved. It felt as if Katsuki had been wanting to touch Izuku like that for years and, now that he finally could, he was savoring every bit of it, marking every part of Izuku's mouth as if it was his and his alone.

Izuku had been overwhelmed, felt as if he was overrun with ecstasy by something as simple as a kiss, practically drowning in the touch.

When Katsuki finally had broken away Izuku nearly whimpered, feeling as if it hadn't lasted quite long enough. They had both ended up softly panting, catching their breaths from the intensity they'd just felt.

It had taken every ounce of Izuku's will to drag himself away. Izuku wanted to hit himself for promising to take it slow.

'Does that mean he's better at kissing than me?'

Izuku whipped his head around, heat pooling into his cheeks as he clasped his hands over his mouth.

Shouto simply smiled, one eyebrow raised in amusement.

'That's not what I.. I never said anything like that!' Izuku tried to defend himself, but he pouted anyways.

Shouto chuckled again. Izuku shifted and laid down with his head in Shouto's lap. The touch of Shouto's cool fingers against his scalp felt nice as he was being pet.

Izuku huffed. 'If you really want to know, you should try it yourself.'

Shouto's hands stopped moving. His voice was full of hesitation as he spoke. 'Try what?'

Izuku shifted so he could see Shouto's face. He grinned mischievously. 'Y'know, try kissing him.'

Shouto simply stared down at Izuku, eyes wide and eyebrows raised, mouth trembling slightly as he tried to come up with something to say. After a good minute, his mouth snapped shut, unable to retort.

Izuku snickered, reaching out for Shouto's cheek, noticing that it was hot to the touch. 'I was just joking,' he assured him.

Shouto swallowed thickly before he was able to wipe the surprised look from his face. 'Yes, of course you were,' he said, his lips turning into a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

Izuku redirected his gaze towards the ceiling. 'Though I think you'd be nice together,' he said honestly.

Shouto resumed combing his fingers through Izuku's hair, remaining silent. Izuku took it as the permission to keep talking. 'You might not think so, but you're actually quite alike. Did you know he has the same console as you?'

Shouto looked down at him, smiling softly. 'No, I did not.'

Izuku's eyes lit up in excitement. 'Yeah, he does! And he has some of the games you have too! Maybe you could play together sometime.'

Shouto hummed softly. 'Maybe we could.'

As Izuku looked up, he saw Shouto smiling contently, even though the dual-user wasn't looking at him. Izuku wondered if Shouto wasn't that much opposed to the idea of hanging out with Katsuki as he first let seem.

After that they remained silent for a bit, Shouto softly stroking Izuku's hair as he was trying to calm himself down. Eventually, Izuku spoke up. 'Do you mind me talking about him?'

Shouto looked down, staring into Izuku's green eyes. 'Why would I?' he asked in return.

Izuku chewed on his lower lip. 'Because you were against all of this at first and I can imagine that you don't want to hear how I'm having fun with someone else and if I were in your position I guess I'd just feel awkward and I don't want you to feel awkward, so…,' he gushed.

'Izuku,' Shouto said. Izuku fixated his gaze on Shouto's dual-colored eyes. 'No, I don't mind you talking about him. I was opposed to it at first, but it makes me happy to see you happy, so it's fine.'

Izuku's heart swelled. He grabbed at his chest, twisting the fabric of his shirt in his grip. 'Really?' Izuku asked, voice soft.

Shouto leaned down, pressing his lips against Izuku's forehead, before smiling. 'Really,' he assured.

Izuku smiled back at him. He can't remember the last time he had reason to smile as much as he did.

Izuku pushed himself up and reached out, bringing Shouto's face closer to him as he pressed their lips together. Izuku drank in the neediness he felt behind it, the passion they both shared.

He pulled back just a little, their foreheads touching. 'I love you,' Izuku whispered.

Shouto closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around Izuku's waist and pulling him closer before whispering back 'I love you too.'


	14. when Two People Come Together

'I'm just saying that you should at least _try_ ,' Izuku said, smashing the buttons on his controller as his character was thrown across the screen. He pouted a little, eyebrows drawn together.

'I don't see why,' Katsuki replied, tactically pressing the buttons to perform a combo and knock Izuku's character off the stage.

Izuku rested the controller in his lap and looked up, frowning at Katsuki who was staring at the screen. 'It wouldn't hurt to get to know each other better,' Izuku tried to convince him, almost forgetting that they were playing and nearly getting knocked off instantly again. He felt Katsuki's chest vibrate as the blond snickered.

Izuku put down his controller in defiance, not wanting to have this conversation while distracted. It took Katsuki a little while to realize that Izuku had stopped playing – Katsuki was usually too good for Izuku to retaliate, so Izuku not moving was nothing new – but when he did, he looked down, looking into those bright green eyes of Izuku's which were narrowed. Katsuki sighed and put his controller down.

'I don't understand why you're making such a big deal out of this,' Katsuki said, wrapping his hands around Izuku's waist and pulling him closer to his chest.

Izuku huffed as the air was pushed out of him, his voice breathless as he replied. 'Because maybe I'd like to be with both of you?' he said, voice full with accusation.

'You already are with both of us,' Katsuki retaliated. Izuku narrowed his eyes even further, which in turn made Katsuki's roll his. 'You know I can't stand him,' Katsuki said through gritted teeth.

Izuku averted his gaze and crossed his arms across his chest. 'Well, I don't understand why.'

Katsuki heaved a sigh and buried his face in Izuku's curls. Izuku struggled as he tried to break free, not wanting the affection when he was annoyed, but Katsuki's grip on his waist only tightened, leaving Izuku nowhere to go.

'He's just so full of himself, like he knows everything better,' Katsuki muttered. Izuku huffed, earning him a soft growl.

'He's not, and you know that,' Izuku argued.

Katsuki groaned. 'I just… I don't like him. He's always all over you.'

Izuku rolled his eyes. 'Like you aren't.'

Katsuki lifted his head and reached for Izuku's chin, making him look up so he could press their lips together. Izuku squeezed his eyes shut and tried to pull back, too mad to enjoy the kiss now. When Katsuki pulled back and let him go, Izuku pouted.

'I still think you should try hanging out with him!' Izuku said, not giving in to Katsuki's distractions.

Katsuki groaned again and dug his face into the crook of Izuku's neck. The hot breath on Izuku's cold skin made the hair on his neck stand up. He doesn't know what to say anymore, distracted by how close Katsuki is.

Heat is slowly pooling into his cheeks as his mind wanders. Chewing on his bottom lip, he nearly bites through it as Katsuki speaks up. 'I'll consider it if he gives me your virginity.'

Izuku's cheeks flush red as he sputters, trying to come up with a reply. 'Wha- that doesn't even- why would you-'

Katsuki just snickers, the sound vibrating through his chest. Izuku pushes Katsuki's hands away and crawls out of his lap, settling on the other side of the room as he avoids all eye contact, his mind still not able to form proper sentences.

From the corners of his eyes, Izuku could see Katsuki pull his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them, a wide grin plastered on his face. Izuku just glared at him, the gesture probably looking idiotic due to his tomato red face.

Izuku pulled his knees up to his chest as well, burying his face into them. He slowly breathed in and out, trying to get his heartbeat to calm down a little. When his breathing was even, he looked up, only his eyes visible as he muttered: 'He can't.'

Katsuki looked over at Izuku, one eyebrow raised in confusion. 'He can't? Can't what? Give me your virginity?' he questioned.

Izuku looked away as he nodded once. He expected a response, but the other side of the room remained silent. The tense atmosphere was nearly becoming unbearable before Katsuki spoke up.

'You aren't a virgin anymore?'

Izuku glanced over. Katsuki was simply staring at him, forehead slightly wrinkled from frowning, but no other emotion clearly visible.

Izuku cleared his throat and sat up a little straighter, his heart beating loudly in his chest. 'No, I'm not.'

Katsuki's frown deepened. 'You had sex with him?'

Izuku let out a deep breath. 'Yeah, I did. It's not like it matters.'

'Of course it fucking matters!'

And there was the explosive reaction Izuku had been waiting for. Really, being a virgin or not wasn't that big a deal. Who cared with how many people Izuku had slept with before he would with Katsuki? Apparently, Katsuki did.

'Why?' Katsuki demanded, pushing himself to his feet and towering over Izuku. Izuku refused to let Katsuki have the high ground, so he got up as well, now being able to talk on a nearly even level.

'Why I had sex with him? I don't know, Kacchan. Because I love him?'

Katsuki grit his teeth. His chest went up and down in rapid motions and Izuku couldn't help but notice how much the blond was trying to hold back. It wasn't enough.

'Did you already love me back then?'

Heat rose to Izuku's cheeks. 'Th-that doesn't matter!' he defended himself.

Katsuki took a step forward, forcing Izuku against the wall. There was still a distance between them, and Izuku tried very hard to maintain that.

'Did you?' Katsuki demanded. Izuku looked away, his breaths coming in short bursts. It didn't matter. None of it mattered. Why was he making such a big deal out of this!?

Katsuki made his way forward again, his body flush against Izuku's. Izuku chewed on his bottom lip, trying to keep himself from saying things that didn't matter or would only hurt someone.

'Did you think of me as you did it?' Katsuki pushed.

Izuku squeezed his eyes shut. 'Kacchan, stop.'

Katsuki placed his hand next to Izuku's face on the wall, effectively trapping him. 'No, I'm not stopping, I want to know. Why would you sleep with him before me?'

Izuku redirected his gaze to the ground. 'Because I wasn't dating you back then.'

'If you had, would you have chosen me first?'

Izuku pursed his lips. 'It doesn't matter.'

'Would you?!' Katsuki demanded.

'It doesn't matter!' Izuku yelled, placing his hands on Katsuki's chest and pushing him back, making the blond stumble as he gripped onto the edge of the bed to steady himself.

Izuku was staring down at him, eyes wide, nostrils flared, breathing heavy. Realization settled on Katsuki's face as he finally noticed how worked up Izuku had gotten.

'Fuck,' he muttered, pushing himself back to his feet and slowly walking over to Izuku. Izuku released the tension from his shoulders, falling into Katsuki's embrace with relief.

'I'm sorry,' Katsuki muttered in Izuku's ear, leading them both to the bed as they sat down.

'It doesn't matter who was first,' Izuku muttered back. 'All it matters is that I love you both.'

Katsuki hummed. 'Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry.'

Katsuki held Izuku firmly as the boy struggled to get his breathing even. When he finally started to calm down, Katsuki said: 'If it makes any difference, I'm not a virgin anymore either.'

Izuku pulled back, blinking a couple of times as he stared at Katsuki. 'You're not?' he questioned, voice tainted with disbelief.

Katsuki's expression hardened as he looked away. 'It's… not something I'm proud of.'

Izuku reached out, placing his hand on Katsuki's cheek in a reaffirming way. Katsuki leaned into it, looking dejected. He sighed. 'After you turned me down, Eijiro came and confessed to me. I wanted to turn him down, should've but… somehow things went the other way.'

Izuku watched as Katsuki slowly opened up to him, showing the vulnerable sides of him that he would've never shown before.

'The day after I felt extremely guilty. It completely fucked up my friendship with Eijiro for a while.' Katsuki looked back at Izuku, who was softly frowning.

'We managed to work it out, don't worry,' Katsuki reassured him.

Izuku leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Katsuki's neck. 'I'm glad,' he whispered.

Katsuki returned the embrace. After a moment, he pulled back. 'Let's finish the game,' he said.

'Oh, right, we were playing…,' Izuku muttered, cheeks slightly pink as he settled himself on the floor between Katsuki's legs again.

It only took a couple rounds and some cursing from Katsuki as Izuku accidentally unlocked an instant win combo before the tension in the air had bled out and had been replaced with a playful atmosphere.

'Stop using that goddamn move!' Katsuki snapped.

'No way!' Izuku laughed, finally being able to win. A heat spread through his insides and warmed his heart as he heard Katsuki grumble accusations of cheating.

'Hey,' Izuku said, placing his controller down again. Katsuki looked down and Izuku reached up, pressing his lips against Katsuki's. For a moment, everything stood still.

'Game's starting,' Katsuki muttered.

'Don't care,' Izuku breathed back, releasing Katsuki's lips and shifting so he could face him. 'I'm tired of playing anyways,' he said, leaning forward to wrap his arms around Katsuki's neck and press his body into him as their lips met again.

Their lips moved together, as if perfectly form fitting. Katsuki's teeth grazed and nibbled on Izuku's lower lip as his breath hitched. Katsuki's hands found his way to Izuku's thighs, pressing them closer together as they licked the inside of each other's mouths, hungry and desperate.

Katsuki was the first one to pull back, looking at Izuku as his eyes were half lidded, cheeks rosy and mouth slightly agape as he softly panted. 'Is this okay?' Katsuki asked.

Izuku hummed, leaning forward and tracing a path with his lips from Katsuki's collarbone up to his ear. 'I was holding back because I thought you weren't ready,' Izuku admitted quietly.

Katsuki grinned, grabbing Izuku's shoulders and pushed him away so he could see him. 'Is that so?' he said, mischief laced in his words.

Izuku gulped, eyes opening slightly in alertness, but it was too late. Katsuki rapidly pushed himself to his feet, dragging Izuku with him.

The boy stumbled, but Katsuki took a firm hold of his wrists as he swung him around and pinned him to the bed. Izuku's heart was going a million beats a minute in his chest as Katsuki was perched on top of him, grinning from ear to ear.

Izuku shivered as Katsuki licked a stripe up to Izuku's ear. His hot breath in Izuku's ear somehow was an extreme turn-on. 'I only held back because I thought you weren't.'

And in that moment, all boundaries were instantly shattered. Both of them had been too afraid to initiate, but now, knowing that they both had experience and were fine with it, they didn't hold back.

Katsuki's mouth found Izuku's while his hand went to work its way down Izuku's body, somehow touching all the spots that were sensitive.

Izuku moaned when Katsuki's thumb ran over his nipple, blood already going south.

'You like when I touch your nipples that much?' Katsuki teased.

Izuku looked up, eyebrows knit together but eyes half lidded. 'No, I don't,' he insisted.

Katsuki grabbed the hem of Izuku's shirt and pulled it up, almost completely obstructing Izuku's view as something hot and wet enveloped his left nipple. Izuku writhed under the touch, eager for more, moaning as Katsuki's tongue flicked it.

'Seems like you do,' Katsuki smirked when Izuku tried to hide his red face.

While one of Katsuki's hands supported Izuku's head, him occasionally coming up for a kiss that took both their breaths away, the other traveled south. It rubbed over the bulge in Izuku's track shorts, making him whimper.

Izuku pried his hands away from his own face, forcing himself not to be embarrassed, and reached up, wrapping his arms around Katsuki's back and pulling him down.

'Fuck, slow down,' Katsuki hissed, nearly losing his balance and crashing on top of Izuku.

'Don't wanna,' Izuku whined.

Katsuki clicked his tongue. He tugged at the waistband of Izuku's shorts, his dick popping free, fully erect and glistening with pre-come. Izuku watched Katsuki's face intently and saw the soft blush creep up on him as he eyed Izuku's erection.

Growing tired of Katsuki taking things slow, Izuku pushed himself upright and switched positions, pinning Katsuki down underneath him.

'What the-,' Katsuki exclaimed, letting out a soft groan as Izuku wasted no time and slid his hand down Katsuki's boxers, gripping the base of his cock and started working it.

'You really have no patience, do you?' Katsuki accused, hand sliding in Izuku's hair and pulling him in for a kiss.

Izuku moaned as Katsuki's other hand found its way to Izuku's hole, tracing the sensitive rim with his finger.

'You like that?' Katsuki breathed.

Izuku nodded. 'Y-yeah.'

Izuku closed his eyes, letting the feelings overwhelm him. He yelped as something cold and slick pushed against his asshole.

'Calm down, it's just lube,' Katsuki muttered, looking focused as he worked on opening Izuku up.

Izuku's hand stopped moving and he pulled away. He looked around, his eye quickly landing on the bottle next to the pillow. He reached out and put a generous amount of the lube on his fingers.

'Why the fuck would you need-,' Katsuki argued, gasping as Izuku pulled Katsuki's cock out of his pants and enveloped it with his mouth. He propped himself up with one arm, reaching the other backwards to open his hole himself.

After having done it so many times with Shouto, Izuku had deemed himself… well, not an expert, but definitely not an amateur either considering blowjobs.

He hollowed his cheeks and took the entire length of Katsuki's cock in his mouth as he used his tongue to stimulate the tip.

He could hear Katsuki moan and curse as Izuku's tongue moved every which way.

'Fuck, you don't have to-,' Katsuki said, being cut off as he shuddered. Izuku pulled back just in time to not choke on it, but Katsuki's cum slowly dripped down his face.

Katsuki looked at it in disgust. 'That's gross,' he commented.

Izuku pouted, crossing his arms. 'It's not gross if it made you feel good.'

Katsuki opened his mouth to say something in return, but a drop of his own cum dripped from Izuku's chin onto the sheets, temporarily distracting him.

Izuku smirked as he noticed that Katsuki just got hard again.

'Fuck,' Katsuki exclaimed again as he lurched for Izuku, pushing him back onto the mattress.

Before he could realize it, both Izuku's pants and underwear were gone, leaving him half naked as Katsuki pinned his wrists above his head.

Their eyes met as Izuku could feel Katsuki's cock against the rim of his hole, pushing in gently before bucking his hips and bottoming out completely.

Izuku gasped, being filled with a whole different array of senses than when he had sex with Shouto.

There was no denying that Katsuki was bigger and, even though he tried to hide it between gentleness, Katsuki liked it rough.

Tears welled up in the corners of Izuku's eyes as Katsuki pounded into him, each move both controlled and reckless.

He pushed Izuku's leg up and pushed in again, making Izuku moan loudly. 'Ka-Kacchan,' Izuku whined.

Katsuki came down, locking their lips together while still holding onto that fast pace he had set.

'P-please, slow d-down,' Izuku stuttered.

'Slow down?' Katsuki panted. 'You wanted it faster a minute ago.'

Tears rolled down Izuku's cheeks, being overwhelmed with the pleasure coursing through his body. Izuku's nails dug into Katsuki's skin as his prostate was being hit. Katsuki gritted his teeth, enduring the pain.

'Kacchan,' Izuku whined again.

'Fine,' Katsuki huffed. 'Set the pace yourself.'

He wrapped his arms around Izuku's back, pulling him up as he leaned against the wall, Izuku in his lap.

Katsuki grinned, probably thinking that Izuku was too exhausted to move, but Izuku hadn't been training his leg muscles for months without reason.

He latched onto Katsuki's neck, quickly setting a pace that was fast but not too much. Still, it left Katsuki a groaning mess as he rolled his hips.

Izuku dug his hands into the roots of Katsuki's blond spikes, gripping it tightly as the tip of his cock dragged against Katsuki's stomach, being attacked with sensations from both sides.

'Fuck.. slow down,' Katsuki heaved. 'I'm gonna come.'

Izuku dived in for another kiss, breathing heavily as he pulled back. 'Me too,' he replied.

Izuku shifted, pushing himself up and down, Katsuki's cock dragging against his insides.

'Shit, get off me,' Katsuki growled, but Izuku slammed himself down one last time as he felt Katsuki's cock twitch inside him, filling him up with heat, before coming as well, creating stains on Katsuki's shirt.

Katsuki pulled Izuku closer to his chest, waiting for his breathing to even out before lifting the guy up and pulling out.

Izuku smiled, eyes half-mast as he looked up at Katsuki, feeling satisfied. Katsuki pulled him in close again as Izuku dug his nose into the crook of Katsuki's neck.

'I didn't know you were such a horny bitch,' Katsuki accused smirking.

Izuku snorted. 'Didn't know I could be better at something than you,' he retaliated.

Katsuki put his hand on Izuku's chest and pushed him off, Izuku's body landing on the mattress with a bounce. 'Who said you were better than me!'

* * *

'What do you want to do?' Shouto asked.

Katsuki huffed, looking at the ground as they strolled through the streets of downtown Musutafu.

Shouto sighed, looking at his phone once again, watching as the minute changed. After the necessary persuasions from Izuku, both he and Katsuki had agreed to spend more time together.

Seeing as Izuku was busy with his internship today, they had decided to get it over quickly and just do it as soon as possible. Both had been reluctant, not being able to see where they had any common interests, so there they were, aimlessly walking the streets.

'I want to be here as much as you,' Shouto spoke up.

'Which isn't a lot,' Katsuki added.

'But we promised Izuku we would try.'

Katsuki huffed and stopped walking, making Shouto have to stop as well and turn around. Katsuki's eyebrows were knitted together, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. 'I _am_ trying,' he replied.

Shouto rolled his eyes. 'Yes, I know you are. I just thought maybe we could do something more… fun, than walking along the streets, not talking to each other.'

Katsuki raised an eyebrow, looking amused. 'If you want to do something, why don't you come up with anything?'

Shouto shrugged, growing tired of Katsuki's sour attitude fast. 'I don't know what you like.'

Katsuki started moving again and Shouto caught up as Katsuki passed by. 'Izuku said you liked videogames,' Katsuki said.

Shouto let out an icy breath, making a small cloud of mist appear in front of him. 'Yeah, I guess I do.'

Katsuki smirked. 'What do you mean, you guess you do? You either like them or you don't.'

Shouto looked over at Katsuki, who was also glancing at him. He quickly averted his gaze. 'Izuku introduced me to them and I've grown to enjoy them,' Shouto responded.

After the first time they went shopping for games, Shouto hadn't really expanded his collection. He thought it was a waste of money to buy new games if he hadn't finished the ones he bought yet, and finishing every game proved to be difficult.

'So, want to go to a videogame store or something?' Katsuki suggested, sounding not at all interested in the proposal.

Shouto shook his head. 'I've got enough games for now,' he replied.

Katsuki clicked his tongue, visibly becoming agitated. 'Well, what the fuck can we do then? It's apparently the only thing we have in common.'

'You don't know that,' Shouto responded. He hadn't had the time to get to know Katsuki better so, as far as they both knew, videogames were their only common ground, but there could be much more hidden.

'Then what do you propose? That we go have a cozy little date where we talk about ourselves over a cheesecake and a decaf latté?' Katsuki nearly snapped. Shouto made a mental note that indecisiveness apparently seemed to aggravate the blond.

One corner of Shouto's mouth turned up at the proposal. The idea itself seemed crazy, far too romantic and cheesy to even consider, let alone envision themselves in. Shouto was sure that if Katsuki had to sit down and talk about his feelings with someone that was nearly a complete stranger, and someone he disliked no less, the guy would literally explode.

'No, I don't want that,' he eventually replied.

Katsuki grit his teeth. 'Well good, cause neither do I.'

They rounded a corner and were faced with a small traditional ramen shop. It reminded Shouto of the date with Izuku he'd had in Tokyo a little while ago. Suddenly, an idea came to mind.

'You know this town, right?' Shouto asked Katsuki none too subtly.

Katsuki's eyebrows drew together into a frown. 'Yeah, why?'

'Is there an arcade here?' Shouto questioned.

The lines on Katsuki's forehead became deeper as the frown intensified, probably questioning Shouto's sanity. 'Yeah, there is, but I'm not going there,' he said resolutely.

Shouto stared at him, blinking a couple of times in confusion. 'Why not? It's a fun activity and it involves gaming. You know, the one thing we have in common.'

'An arcade is for middle-schoolers with too much free time and money to waste,' Katsuki spat.

Shouto's brow furrowed as he now frowned as well. He really thought that Katsuki was the type for arcades. 'Well, it's either that or we go home. There's nothing here that interests both of us, so then we'd better call it a day.'

Shouto rounded a corner, already heading back to campus. Katsuki stared ahead as he kept pace next to him, hands balling into fists in his pockets.

'Fine with me,' he said. The entire idea of hanging out with Shouto had just been a mistake. They'd better just end it now than drag it on. However, a pit formed in Katsuki's stomach as Shouto said: 'I just hope Izuku won't be too disappointed.'

Katsuki stopped in place, upper lip curling up in disgust. 'Why the fuck would he be disappointed?'

Shouto turned around. 'Because we didn't even try.'

Katsuki cursed under his breath. 'We did try. We spent the entire day together already.'

Shouto pulled is phone from his pocket and checked the time before holding it up for Katsuki to see. 'You call twenty-seven minutes an entire day?'

Heat was rising to Katsuki's cheeks. Had they really only been hanging out for less than half an hour? It felt like years.

Shouto was slightly startled as Katsuki turned on his heel and stormed away. At the end of the street, he looked back before snapping: 'Well, are you coming to the fucking arcade or not?'

* * *

The Musutafu arcade was bigger than Shouto had expected it to be, totaling a whopping four stories filled to the brim with loud machines and colorful displays.

He looked around in amazement, slightly overwhelmed by all the visual input, but quickly adjusting to it.

Katsuki called his name. 'This one works with a card system. You put money on one of these,' Katsuki explained, holding up a plastic card with the name of the place written on it, 'and then swipe it on the machines to play.'

Katsuki quickly demonstrated how to recharge the card, looking over Shouto's shoulder as he put credit on it as well. Almost as soon as Shouto was done, Katsuki was already heading for the stairs to the upper levels.

Shouto looked around, seeing so many things he wanted to try.

'Trust me, the good ones are upstairs,' Katsuki said as he saw Shouto looking around.

Shouto decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and went upstairs to the fourth floor. Following the blond around like a puppy, Katsuki wound through the crowd with ease, settling himself down at a machine as if he had been searching for it.

Shouto stared at the machine. It was a common race game. Katsuki looked over his shoulder. 'Are you joining or are you just gonna stare?'

Shouto blinked a couple of times, slowly making his way over to the vacant seat and carefully sitting down. 'Just swipe your card here,' Katsuki pointed and Shouto did as instructed, the machine beeping as it told him to press start.

Katsuki quickly put his car together, assembling all the best pieces to have the maximum speed and boost, while Shouto took a little longer, going more for the appeal than the stats.

As they started, Shouto noticed that Katsuki was gripping the wheel tightly, a grin plastered on his face as his body moved with every turn they made. One corner of Shouto's mouth tugged up at the sight, nearly forgetting to focus on his own car and crashing into a wall.

Katsuki pushed himself to his feet after winning. He looked around before his eye landed on Shouto. 'Got anything you want to try?' he asked.

Shouto looked around, completely unfamiliar with all the games before noticing something he recognized. He stalked over and swiped his card before Katsuki could say anything.

'Really? Taiko?' Katsuki snorted.

Shouto looked at him, brow knitted together. 'I like it,' he replied.

Katsuki's grin fell as he scratched the back of his neck. 'Guess it's pretty fun.'

'Care to join?' Shouto asked, holding out the drumsticks for him to take. Katsuki grumbled something inaudible before snatching the sticks out of Shouto's hands and swiping his own card.

Shouto quickly settled on some run-off-the-mill pop song that was on a near constant loop on the radio. It was a recognizable beat, seeing as how much it was being played, so Katsuki was sure he wouldn't have trouble keeping up, but as soon as the first notes were played, Katsuki noticed the huge experience gap between the two of them.

By the end of the song, Katsuki's face was red from straining so hard to keep up while Shouto looked like it had taken him zero effort to complete it nearly perfectly. 'That was fun,' Shouto said as he put the drumsticks down, glancing at Katsuki from the corner of his eyes.

Katsuki clicked his tongue, trying to compose himself. 'All these games are stupid. It's better if you can win something.'

Shouto raised an eyebrow. 'You can win things at arcades?' he asked, sounding somehow excited.

Katsuki stared at him, not believing that Shouto didn't know about this. 'Have you.. never been to an arcade before?' he dared to ask.

Shouto averted his gaze, a small blush creeping up on his cheeks. 'My father didn't allow me to,' he responded, clasping and unclasping his hands in front of him.

He got startled as Katsuki placed his hands on his shoulders and directed him to the center of the floor.

'Okay, look. See those machines?' Katsuki pointed and Shouto followed with his eyes. 'They are card games. When you play, you can collect cards and place them into the game to win more. If you get the entire set, you get a prize. And those,' he said, turning Shouto around. 'Are mostly games just for fun. Racing games, some rhythm games and such. You don't get any tickets. Most of the machines that give tickets are down a floor or two.'

'Then why did we go to the fourth first?' Shouto asked. If this didn't get them any tickets, what was the point?

Katsuki grit his teeth. 'You said you wanted to do something fun. These are fun.'

Katsuki let go of Shouto, moving towards the staircase. Shouto tilted his head to the side as he watched.

Katsuki rolled his eyes and beckoned him, which made Shouto move. He followed Katsuki as he went to the back of the third floor.

'These,' Katsuki motioned, 'are crane games. They're pretty self-explanatory. It's the quickest way to get a prize.'

In a whisper he added: 'Even though most are rigged as fuck.'

'Rigged?' Shouto asked.

'The claws don't work properly and the prizes are cheaper if you buy it in a store.'

Shouto nodded in understanding. 'So, don't play these?' he asked.

Katsuki turned around and looked to the other side of the hall. 'If you want to it to be your money's worth, no. Also they're no fun.'

'Then what is fun and gives tickets?' Shouto asked. His curiosity about how arcades worked was flaring. Somehow it seemed thrilling to be able to have fun and get something out of it as well.

'Rhythm games on the second floor, tactical games on this one.'

Shouto turned around towards the staircase this time, making Katsuki have to follow suit.

'And what is the game _you_ get the most tickets out of?' Shouto asked, wandering about the rhythm game machines. He settled himself in front of one with a lot of buttons and what seemed to be idols dancing in cute outfits. He swiped his card and focused on pressing the buttons at the right time.

'DDR,' Katsuki replied.

Keeping his gaze fixated on the screen, Shouto responded. 'DDR?'

Katsuki leaned against the wall behind Shouto. 'Dance Dance Revolution. It's a dance rhythm game.'

Shouto hummed. 'You're a good dancer?' he asked.

Katsuki snorted. 'As if. It's just pressing buttons, but they're on the floor instead of on the screen.'

'I see,' Todoroki replied as he turned around after finishing the game with a perfect combo.

Katsuki clicked his tongue. 'Never knew you'd be good at rhythm games.'

Shouto smiled softly. 'Neither did I.'

They walked about the floor a little more, playing some games here and there. Katsuki tried his luck on a crane game even though he admitted they were rigged, inevitably losing and swearing about wasted money.

When they got to the first floor, Shouto's eye landed on the DDR machine.

'Want to give it a go?' Katsuki teased.

'It's a rhythm game,' Shouto said coolly. 'You've just seen how good I am at those.'

Katsuki took of his jacket and placed it next to the machine, taking his playcard out of his pocket to swipe it. 'Are you saying you can beat me?' he asked, sounding amused.

Shouto placed his jacket down as well. 'I'm saying I might.'

Katsuki stared at Shouto, who was looking at him with an eyebrow raised in amusement.

'The loser pays for dinner,' Katsuki stated.

The corners of Shouto's mouth tugged up. 'Fine.'

Katsuki extended his hand, waiting for Shouto to take it. After shaking it, they both stepped onto the platform.

Katsuki decided to pick his favorite song which was, subsequently, also the one he was best at. He glanced over at Shouto's screen, noticing how his difficulty was at "hard".

'Hey,' he said, getting Shouto's attention. 'You're not gonna win at that low difficulty.'

Shouto looked over at Katsuki's screen and saw that the marker was placed at expert. Shouto frowned. It was his first time playing this and he would have to take a moment to get used to it, but playing on hard while Katsuki played on expert meant an instant loss.

With reluctance, Shouto tapped the tile once to change the difficulty to expert as well.

Mimicking Katsuki as the song started, Shouto gripped on the red bar behind them, his gaze solely fixated on the screen as the arrows started coming.

Missing the first couple, Shouto quickly caught onto the game, adrenaline coursing through his veins as it sped up, making his hips twist every which way.

A bead of sweat dripped down the side of his face nearing the zenith of the song, but he was insistent and didn't want to lose from Katsuki.

Voices poured into his ears from bystanders excitedly looking as both him and Katsuki gave their all on the rhythm game.

When the song was over, Shouto's legs were shaking and his breath came in short bursts. Katsuki was also panting, but a bit more steadier on his feet as he put on his jacket and then reached down to snatch Shouto's.

Grabbing Shouto by the crook of his elbow, Katsuki guided the both of them outside where the cool air hit them like a wall.

After catching their breaths for a moment, Shouto put on his jacket and they started walking down the street.

'Who won?' Shouto asked after a while.

'I did,' Katsuki responded. Shouto's brows knitted together. 'What is it? Don't have the money to pay for dinner?' Katsuki joked.

Shouto shook his head. 'My family is rich, I've got plenty of money. It's just I don't want to.'

Katsuki raised his eyebrow at him. 'Why the fuck not? We agreed that the loser would pay dinner and-' he started, but got cut off as Shouto placed his hands on Katsuki's shoulders, pushing him into a side alley.

Everything was going too fast for Katsuki to react as Shouto took hold of his chin and pressed their lips together. Katsuki didn't move as Shouto kissed him, his heart pounding in his chest.

Shouto pulled away and took a step back, covering his mouth with his hand. 'Sorry,' he muttered, gaze aimed at the ground, his cheeks tainted pink. 'I just… just wanted to try.'

Katsuki raised one hand to his lips tentatively. They burned as if they were on fire, but in a pleasant way that Katsuki couldn't quite understand.

He looked over at Shouto. Katsuki almost couldn't believe it as he noticed that Shouto was embarrassed.

Taking a deep breath, Katsuki pulled himself together and smacked Shouto on the back of the head, which made the dual-user growl, a sound Katsuki had never heard before.

'If you ever do stupid shit like that again without asking, I'm killing you,' Katsuki said, already moving back towards the main street.

Shouto remained still, mouth slightly agape in shock. 'Without asking?' he parroted, still feeling overwhelmed by his own actions.

Katsuki clicked his tongue, heat rising to his cheeks. 'Yeah. Now let's go. You're paying for dinner whether you like it or not!'


	15. Chapter 15

Izuku softly knocked on Katsuki's door, not bothering for a reply as he opened the door and slipped inside. 'Hey-,' he started, but got cut off by Katsuki shushing him.

Izuku raised an eyebrow at the sound, not quite sure why Katsuki would tell him to be quiet, until he walked further into the room and laid eye upon Katsuki's bed.

Katsuki was lying there casually, his arm supporting his head as he looked over at Izuku. On his chest laid Shouto, eyes shut and chest moving up and down, seemingly sound asleep. Izuku smiled fondly.

Making his way over to where the two boys were lying, he took Katsuki's desk chair and sat down next to the bed, folding his legs underneath him. 'You two seem to have gotten a lot closer,' Izuku joked while whispering.

Katsuki grimaced. 'Fucker came over to play games, then said something about feeling cold and latched onto me. Almost instantly fell asleep and I haven't been able to pry him off.'

Izuku chuckled, reaching out and brushing Shouto's bangs aside. Only the red half of his hair was visible and the unscarred side of his face was nearly hidden as it pressed against Katsuki's chest.

As Izuku's touch lingered, Shouto's nose twitched. Izuku was about to whip out his phone and take a picture of the cute scene in front of him before Katsuki growled indignantly.

'Sorry,' Izuku apologized half-heartedly, retracting his arm and focusing on Katsuki instead. 'I'm glad you're getting along better.'

Katsuki huffed, eyes travelling down to where Shouto was sleeping. He shifted a little, making Shouto's face scrunch up, his hand wrapping firmly around his shoulder. 'Turns out it's hard not to fall for someone this cute,' Katsuki muttered.

Izuku couldn't do anything but smile. Of course he had known from the start that the two of them could be great friends, but having them admit that had been harder. However, he had never expected them to become a couple as well.

It was a bit hard for Izuku at first, having to deal with the fact that they'd divert their romantic attention between the three of them now instead of both of them directing it at him, but it didn't take long before it all started to feel natural.

Shouto shifted, nuzzling even closer to Katsuki as he grumbled, like a child that didn't want to wake up yet.

'Hey,' Katsuki said, voice soft, poking at Shouto's cheek with his free hand. Izuku smiled at the sight. Shouto ignored him, pretending to still be asleep.

'If you're awake, get off,' Katsuki said, more insistent, pushing Shouto away.

Shouto grabbed Katsuki's shirt, clinging on tight, burying the rest of his face in Katsuki's armpit.

Katsuki cursed under his breath, now actively busying himself with prying Shouto's fingers from his shirt, muttering about wrinkles. Izuku watched idly, covering his mouth with his hands as he tried not to laugh too loudly.

It took Katsuki a solid minute of prying and tugging before Shouto grumbled and pushed himself up, yawning loudly while rubbing his eyes. His dual-colored hair was sticking out on all sides, changing Shouto's usual gorgeous appearance to somewhat cute.

'Morning,' Izuku jokingly said. Shouto's gaze redirected towards him, eyeing him warily. He had to blink a couple of times before his brain could properly process who was in front of him. 'Hey,' he replied sheepishly. The corners of Izuku's mouth tugged up.

Katsuki pushed himself up and pulled his legs in, making room for Shouto to move aside. The dual-user crawled to the other side of the bed, back leaning against the wall with his legs pulled up to his chest.

'How was training?' he asked, running his hand through his hair.

'It was good!' Izuku replied enthusiastically. 'I just started working with the gloves, but they need a little readjustment, so I took them back to Mei.'

Shouto hummed in understanding, still seeming a little out of it. From the corner of his eyes Izuku could see Katsuki grin. He stretched his legs and then leaned on his elbows on his knees while placing his chin in his folded hands. 'Got any plans this weekend?' he asked to neither in particular.

He could see Katsuki open his mouth, but Shouto was first to speak up. 'I was thinking about visiting my mom.'

Izuku's eyes lighted up. 'That's exciting!' he said, voice tinged with unhidden enthusiasm.

Shouto smiled softly. 'Yeah. I haven't been there in a while. I think my sister still visits her.'

Izuku cocked his head. 'Why didn't you go?'

Shouto looked down at his hands. 'I've been busy with school. I wanted to go, but I just didn't have the time.'

'I'm sure she'll be glad to see you,' Izuku reassured.

'I'm kind of excited to tell her how much I've been progressing,' Shouto responded, lifting his left hand up and staring at it, a soft smile on his lips.

Izuku's heart swelled in his chest at the sight of that smile. It was pure and real, something the dual-user didn't show too often. 'She'll be so proud,' Izuku said, feeling pride of his own as well.

Shouto looked up, confusion in his eyes. 'You think so?' he asked, insecurity thick in his words.

Izuku nodded fervently. 'I mean, look at how far you've come since you got here! You've opened up and made friends. You've been working so hard to become stronger and become a great hero. How could she not be proud of that?'

And there it was, that wholesome smile that reached all the way up to his eyes, making Izuku's heart skip a beat and his cheeks go red. 'M-maybe Natsuo would like to come too?'

Shouto raised an eyebrow at him. 'I'm not sure if he ever visited her.' He then looked away. 'I suppose I could ask.'

Izuku composed himself, breathing in and out deeply as his heartrate steadied.

'I wouldn't know how to ask him. We've barely ever spoken,' Shouto admitted.

Izuku got up from the chair and plunged down on the bed between Shouto and Katsuki. 'Well, you could call him or text him to see if he's free this weekend,' Izuku suggested while looking at Shouto. 'Or maybe you could go home before going to visit her and see if he's interested.'

Shouto nodded. 'That seems like a good idea.'

Shouto brought his hand to his chin, looking ahead as he lost himself in thought.

Izuku simply stared at him, noticing all the fine features of Shouto's face. Somehow his white hair had a stark contrast with his pale skin, his grey eye seeming quite dull in comparison. His long eyelashes would be a feminizing feature if not for his sharp jawline.

Izuku's eyes traced Shouto's cheekbone, sharp and deep. His skin was spotless and smooth. For a moment, Izuku forgot it was more than just the two of them, drowning in Shouto's beauty.

He felt the bed shift underneath him, promptly remembering that Katsuki was on his other side. He looked over at him and when he did, his heart sank.

Katsuki was looking away, staring at something in the distance, his lower lip pushed out and his eyebrows drawn together. Only then it occurred to Izuku that all they'd been talking about was Shouto and that he had done nothing but stare at the dual-user for at least the past minute.

Izuku felt a little guilty. He often forgot that Katsuki had things to share as well. It was just that he knew Katsuki so well that it always felt like he already knew everything, never really bothering to ask.

Trying to divert his attention evenly, Izuku turned around to face Katsuki. 'How about you?' Izuku asked.

Katsuki didn't respond at first, mind probably somewhere else as the conversation around him wasn't directed at him anyways. Feeling two pairs of eyes bore into him made him snap out of it, staring back at Izuku with glassy eyes. 'Hm? What?'

'What are you doing this weekend?' Izuku asked again.

'Oh,' Katsuki replied, looking at his hands. He shrugged. 'Nothing much. Probably just some training.'

Izuku had hoped for a lengthier reply, something to stir the conversation and prompt Katsuki to talk a little more about himself. Izuku might know quite a lot, but he didn't know everything.

'Do you want to go with me?'

Izuku whipped his head around to look at Shouto, his mouth agape in shock.

Katsuki looked past Izuku, staring at Shouto like he had just gone crazy, one eyebrow raised nearly to his hairline. 'Go where?' he asked, although it was more a rhetorical question than an actual one.

Shouto looked at him with determination. 'To my mother. I think she'd like to meet you.' His gaze shifted over to Izuku. 'You too,' he added.

Izuku's heart started to speed up in his chest. Meeting Shouto's mother… it felt like he would be put up for judgment. 'Th-that's okay! I don't have to-' Izuku stuttered, distracted by Shouto's hand moving over his.

'It's okay if you don't want to, but I think she'd really like you. Both of you,' he reaffirmed.

Katsuki huffed. 'What's there to like?'

Not quite getting the sarcasm laced in his words, Shouto started to reply. 'Your determination to reach your goals is quite admirable, so is your strength to overcome obstacles that are in your way. You might seem rough on the outside, but you're actually quite kind and caring, even though you don't always know how to show it. Also, you're really pretty.'

Izuku was temporarily overwhelmed with the ease of how that flowed out of Shouto's mouth, barely noticing how the tips of Katsuki's ears were starting to turn red.

Looking away in embarrassment, Katsuki muttered some form of agreement.

Shouto stared at Izuku, who was in turn also getting flustered, waiting for a reply. Growing impatient, Shouto prodded a bit. 'Are you coming too?'

Not being able to speak without stuttering out his words, Izuku nodded.

Shouto smiled, a genuine smile once more. Izuku couldn't help but love the fact he was seeing this smile so much lately.

'Hey, idiot.'

Both Izuku and Shouto turned to look at Katsuki who was still looking away. The light blush on his cheeks was apparent even if he tried to hide it. 'Me?' Izuku asked, confused, pointing a finger at his chest.

The blush on Katsuki's face grew darker. 'I meant him,' he snapped, pointing an accusing finger at Shouto.

Shouto raised his eyebrows, now pointing a finger at his chest as well.

'Yes. You. You're the idiot.'

'Why am I an idiot?' Shouto questioned. 'Because you couldn't finish that damn game. Have you already?'

Shouto shook his head while Izuku sighed a breath of relief, glad to have changed the heavy and awkward subject to something more lighthearted.

'Go get your damn game, I'll finish it for you.'

'Alright,' Shouto replied, crawling off the bed. He turned towards Izuku, who reached out and pressed their lips together for a brief kiss. Then Shouto turned to Katsuki. The blond grumbled, but leaned up anyways.

As Shouto closed the door behind him, Katsuki reached out and pulled Izuku into his arms as the smaller boy protested.

Izuku finally stopped flailing around when Katsuki placed his hands on both sides of the smaller boy's face, tilting it upwards so Katsuki could kiss him.

Izuku's cheeks went red, still after all this time not used to Katsuki being so blunt with affection, blabbering some incoherent things before sagging deeper into Katsuki's hold and feeling the blond's chest vibrate as he chuckled.

It didn't take Shouto long to retrieve his copy of the game, taking Izuku in his arms instead as Katsuki went to turn on the console.

Bringing the controller with him, Katsuki settled down between Izuku's legs, resting his head on the smaller boy's chest while leaning back to watch the TV screen on the wall above his bed.

Shouto's fingers plucked at Izuku's green curls while Izuku's hands guided themselves through Katsuki's blond spikes, all the while with him focusing on beating the final boss and finishing the game.

'What time is it?' Izuku asked after a while, his arms under Katsuki's pits and pulling him closer, earning him a soft growl.

Shouto didn't seem to mind the pressure of two bulky teenagers on his chest. 'Nearly eight,' he replied. As if on cue, Izuku's stomach growled.

Katsuki pushed himself up with his elbow, raising an eyebrow at Izuku. Izuku smiled weakly, feeling a tad embarrassed.

Shouto looked back down at his phone. 'Seemed we forgot about dinner,' he said, showing his phone to the other two.

The class group chat was filled with everyone making jokes about why the three of them weren't there, eventually turning serious as neither of them replied.

Izuku quickly took his phone from Katsuki's hands, who had picked it up from the other end of the bed for him. He typed up a quick message, saying that he simply forgot about time during training and that he was fine.

When putting his phone down, Izuku sulked. Kirishima and Uraraka had been on cooking duty today, and everyone in the dorm was very much aware of how much of a great cook they both were.

Every time they had cooking duty together, the class got all riled up, eager to taste their new concoctions which always turned out to be delicious.

'Are you okay?' Shouto asked.

Izuku looked down at his hands, lower lip pushed out. 'I was just looking forward to dinner and now we missed it.' He sighed deeply. 'Let's go make some omurice.'

He squirmed away from his Shouto/Katsuki sandwich and got to his feet, slipping into his All Might themed slippers while looking back at the others to go down to the kitchen with him.

Izuku was the first to make it to the common room, stopping to chat a bit with his classmates and scratching his head sheepishly while making up some lie about getting caught up in his training routine.

When he finally managed to pull himself loose from Iida lecturing him on overworking himself and Mina egging him on to join scary movie night this weekend, he found Shouto and Katsuki already in the kitchen.

'So, what are we making?' Katsuki asked no one in particular.

Izuku looked around. The kitchen was nearly spotless and, due to the Cooking Duo's workings this night, there were barely any ingredients left.

He rummaged through the refrigerator and pantries, eventually finding a piece of beef, some eggs, rice and some vegetables, as well as some herbs and spices.

Izuku proudly presented them to his boyfriends, feeling quite satisfied with still finding this many ingredients this late at night.

He looked around, finding Katsuki with a scowl on his face and Shouto simply staring at the table filled with food. Izuku cocked his head.

'What's wrong?' he asked, not quite understanding what could possibly be. These were all the ingredients they needed to make omurice and honestly, at this point, all he wanted was to at least get _something_ in his stomach.

'I'm not making omurice,' Katsuki said indignantly.

Izuku frowned. 'And why's that?' he challenged.

Katsuki huffed and crossed his arms in defiance. 'I don't know about either of you, but I actually know how to cook.'

Izuku felt slightly offended. Just slightly. He knew Katsuki was a much better cook than he was.

'Omurice is too plain,' Katsuki added.

'Well, then how about you make something better?' Izuku teased.

Katsuki's eyebrows knitted together as he first stared at the ingredients, then at Izuku, then at Shouto and then back at the ingredients before smirking. 'Fine. I will.'

Grabbing one of the white aprons that were hanging on the side of the refrigerator, Katsuki went to work as he gathered even more ingredients that Izuku had missed, alongside some mixing bowls and other cooking equipment.

Shouto and Izuku sat down at the bay window that had a great view into the kitchen and the stove, watching as Katsuki went to work.

The blond took a big frying pan, placing it on the biggest stove as it heated up. Izuku could feel the heat on his skin.

Something roiled in his gut, a mix of pride and heat as he eyed Katsuki, pacing around the kitchen, cutting spring onions here and frying pieces of beef there.

A flame rose up from the stove as Katsuki stirred it aggressively. When the fire died down, Izuku could smell the amazing scent of beef mixed with lotus root and tonkatsu sauce.

Shielding away the dishes as Katsuki plated them, Izuku's mouth started to water. One glance at Shouto told him the dual-user was feeling the same, watching with eager eyes and stomach growling as Katsuki finished up.

Around the two of them a crowd had gathered, cheering on Katsuki as he cooked.

He came up with two steaming bowls and placed them on the counter, grinning from ear to ear with pride. 'Is this better than omurice or not?' he challenged.

Izuku looked down. The rice had a certain brown gloss over them and it kind of dimmer his appetite, but the overwhelming scent got his stomach growling again.

The rice was mixed with cut up vegetables such as lotus root, spring onions, bamboo and mushrooms. Scattered across were pieces of beef, still drenched in tonkatsu sauce.

Izuku was nearly drooling on the counter as Katsuki urged him to take a bite.

All of the flavors were overwhelming him, making him nearly moan in content as he chewed, the beef soft and tender, the bamboo nice and crunchy. The textures were phenomenal, Izuku had no words for it.

He greedily emptied his bowl, not stopping to tell the rest how it tasted, nearly growling as Mina tried to take a bite of it.

'I'm going to take that as a yes,' Katsuki said with satisfied grin.

'How come you never cook if you're so good at it?' Uraraka pouted as she still wasn't allowed a taste from either of the boys.

Katsuki put the apron back on the refrigerator before taking his own bowl and joining his two boyfriends at the counter. He shrugged. 'Too much effort.'

Everyone in the class started to protest and whine about how he should cook more often.

Izuku wiped the back of his hand across his face, catching the pieces of lotus root and bits of sauce he got stuck on there in his haste.

Next to him, Shouto put his bowl down and sighed in relief. 'That was good,' he commented before leaning back and clasping his hands over his stomach. Izuku snickered.

'Why didn't we get any!' Mina yelled.

Katsuki grit his teeth. 'There's some left in the pot if you want it that badly.'

Multiple people scrambled for the pot that was left on the counter. Katsuki just rolled his eyes and got up, Shouto and Izuku following without any words needed.

They settled on the couch as the rest of class A made a ruckus in the kitchen.

'That was amazing,' Izuku said. 'What's it called?'

Katsuki looked down at his bowl as he took a bite. 'I just made it up.'

Izuku's eyebrows shot up in surprise. 'You made that up? On the spot?'

Katsuki hummed, his mouth full.

'That's amazing Kacchan!' Kacchan, sugoi!

Izuku didn't notice the blush creeping on Katsuki's face as Shouto spoke up. 'Will you cook for us like this more often?'

Katsuki huffed. 'Hell no. Way too much effort.'

Izuku pouted and even Shouto's face fell. Noticing both their disappointment, Katsuki frowned and looked away before muttering 'I can teach you.'

This brought on another wave of excitement from both of them that Katsuki would soon come to regret.

* * *

A huge rock came flying right at his head and Izuku turned around just in time, One for All running through his veins and channeling it into his legs, kicking the rock as it shattered to tiny pieces.

When he landed, he was panting. Using that much of his power still cost him a lot of energy, but he was quite proud of himself for already being able to maintain 30%.

The shrill sound of a whistle echoed around the gym, making everyone stop their training and look towards the center where Aizawa was standing. 'Training for today is over, everyone cool down and head back to your dorm. Don't forget to stretch.' Without further ado, he turned around and disappeared through the doors back to the main building.

Izuku carefully maneuvered his way down from the rock formation together with Kirishima, his training partner for the day.

When they were back on the ground, they stretched their arms and legs, bending over and backwards to release the tension from their muscles.

'Nice training,' Kirishima said, clapping Izuku firmly on the back, whose breath hitched in return. He smiled weakly as the redhead made his way towards the locker room.

Izuku stretched out his arms and shook the tension out of his legs, knowing he needed a proper cool down or else he'd be worthless the entirety of the evening and the following day.

Just as he finished his routine, Uraraka came up to him, a small bounce in her step. 'Hey!' she greeted cheerily.

Izuku smiled at her, picking up his towel and water bottle. 'Hey, what's up?' he replied. She walked alongside him as they headed for the locker room.

'Nothing much,' she said, looking at the ceiling. 'Just wondering how you were doing.'

Izuku tilted his head to the side. 'I'm fine,' he said, hoping that the confusion was obvious in his voice.

Uraraka didn't notice. She hummed softly. 'It's just… you've been busy with Bakugou and Todoroki a lot lately.' She turned her head to look at him, her brown eyes wide. 'Is something up?'

A small fit of panic flared up inside of Izuku. He knew he had been spending a lot of time with them lately, but he thought he could write it off as a strengthened friendship that was still trying to improve. With Uraraka coming up to talk to him about this… it must mean she knew something.

'N-no, nothing's up,' Izuku sputtered. 'Why would something be?'

She hummed again. 'I don't know.'

Outside the doors leading to the locker rooms they stopped. With her hand already on the door, Uraraka turned around, eyebrows drawn together in worry. 'If something's wrong, you'd tell me, right?' she asked.

Izuku's heart melted at the concern visible in her eyes. 'Yeah, I would,' he confirmed.

She nodded. Looking back one last time, her mouth opening but no words coming out, she snapped it shut and went into the locker room.

Izuku couldn't get rid of seeing Uraraka's eyes so full of worry. As he focused on homework back in his room, his mind kept going back to it.

He didn't quite comprehend why she was so worried. If he was fighting with them, it would be obvious.

Maybe she was scared of losing Izuku as her friend. Izuku had almost forgotten about his other friends after he had started dating Katsuki and Shouto.

With it still being secret, they didn't have a lot of time to spend with each other during class, or outside in the common room, so they spent most of their time in their own rooms or on small dates in Musutafu. It had never occurred to Izuku that he was neglecting his friends.

He made a mental note of it to make it top priority to hang out with Iida and Uraraka more. Maybe Kirishima and Kaminari would want to do something fun too, considering he had barely spoken to either of them outside of class.

Having been caught up in his own thoughts, Izuku almost missed the shuffling of feet outside of his door. At first, he paid it no mind. He thought that Mineta might just be debating on whether or not to go and try to sneak up on the girls again – Izuku had advised him against it numerous times, him having already been caught at least nine times and getting more severe punishments for every one of it – but the voice that seeped through his door was feminine.

Upon opening the door he noticed Uraraka pacing the hallway, muttering to herself.

'Uh.. Uraraka?' he spoke up.

She squealed and then covered her face with her hands, red seeping through the gaps. Slowly she pried her hands away from her face, instead playing with the hem of her white tank top, chewing on her bottom lip.

'Is something wrong?' Izuku asked. He can't remember Uraraka ever having looked so conflicted.

She looked up, eyes wide, waving her hands frantically in front of her. 'No, no, nothing's wrong!' She averted her gaze, wringing her hands together. 'Actually.. I came to talk to you about something.'

Izuku felt a little uneasy, especially considering the talk they had earlier today. Still, seeing his best friend so conflicted, he wanted to help.

He gestured for her to come in and she sat down at the edge of the bed. Her mouth kept moving as she muttered to herself, but Izuku couldn't catch any of the words she was saying.

She took a deep breath before looking Izuku in the eyes, her mouth opening and ready to speak confidently, only to immediately deflate and go back to clasping and unclasping her hands in her lap.

'Uraraka?' Izuku spoke up, reaching out for his friend.

'I'm fine, I'm fine!' she brushed off. 'It's just..' She gnawed on her bottom lip. 'I don't know if you want to hear this. At least, not from me.'

Izuku raised one eyebrow in confusion. What did or didn't he want to hear?

'Uraraka, if something is upsetting you, please talk to me,' Izuku insisted.

She grunted. 'That's the whole point! It's not upsetting _me_ , but it's going to upset _you_.'

Izuku tilted his head to the side, frowning deeply. 'What would upset me?'

She bit on her lower lip yet again, keeping her gaze averted.

'Uraraka,' he said sternly.

She grunted. 'Fine! I think Todoroki is cheating on you!'

The heavy weight on Izuku's shoulders lifted, replacing it with relief. 'Oh,' he said, a soft smile tugging at his lips.

'I just… I've seen you two going out. I think you were trying to hide it? I'm sorry if I wasn't supposed to know. But… I saw him with Bakugou the other day. And they kissed. And then later you kissed Todoroki too… so I don't think you broke up with him… And I wasn't sure if I should tell you cause I could see you were so much happier than you used to be, but I didn't want you to get hurt either!' She looked up at him, tears glistening in her eyes.

Izuku leaned forward, taking her hands in his. 'It's okay,' he said, softly smiling.

She sniffled. 'No, it's not! You shouldn't excuse cheating! You have to confront him about it or break up with him or… or… if you want, me and the girls can kick his ass!'

Izuku chuckled. 'Uraraka, calm down. It's okay. He's not cheating on me.'

She looked at him, eyes widening. 'What do you mean, he's not cheating? I saw him kissing Bakugou!'

Izuku took a deep breath and released her hands. 'I know. It's okay. He's dating Kacchan as well.'

Uraraka's brows knitted together, furrowing so deep that lines ran across her forehead. 'As well?' she questioned.

Izuku stared at her for a moment, mouth agape, not sure what to say. In the heat of the moment it had slipped his mind that their relationship was meant to be kept quiet and that having a polyamorous relationship was not considered normal. Suddenly, Izuku was frozen, fear encasing his heart.

'Deku.'

Izuku met her eyes.

'I don't understand.'

He knew that. He knew that what he had just said made no sense, but he had no way to talk himself out of this. He couldn't make up lies, he had to tell the truth.

'Well..,' he started, not quite sure how to explain. It wouldn't be the same as when he explained it to Shouto, nor could he tell the same things he had discovered online. 'It's a bit hard to explain,' he started.

Her face hardened. 'Try me.'

Izuku gulped. 'So… uh.. Shouto kind of came and confessed to me a while back, so I went out with him, right? But before that I already had a crush on Kacchan… and that didn't go away when I was with Shouto. So eventually we decided that they'd both date me and eventually they started to date each other too?' He tried his best, but he knew he sounded crazy right now.

He sighed as he saw the quizzical look on her face. 'Look, all of us know what we're doing and nobody is cheating. Okay?'

Uraraka looked a bit hesitant, but then nodded.

'It's called polyamory.'

'Polyamory,' she repeated.

'Mhm, yeah.' God, Izuku felt so stupid right now. He could see in her eyes that her mind was racing and that she wouldn't be able to comprehend everything he'd tell her right now.

She looked down at her hands, playing with the hem of her tank top again. 'You're all okay with this?' she asked without looking up.

'Yes,' Izuku replied.

Uraraka shook her head, looking back up at him. 'I still don't understand.'

Izuku breathed out, slowly. 'Look, it's late already. I can explain it to you later.'

She sighed and stared up at the ceiling. 'I'm not going to judge you for what you decide to do, as long as you're okay with it,' she said, kind of startling Izuku. She chewed on her lower lip. 'I'm more worried about the rest of the class.'

A pit formed in Izuku's stomach. 'The rest of the class?'

Uraraka looked Izuku's eyes, guilt written all over her face. 'I swear I haven't said anything!' she exclaimed. 'But they've seen you with them as well. They're starting to wonder… Maybe you should explain it to them too?'

Reluctance, that's the first thing Izuku feels. It was hard enough explaining it to his lovers, let alone to an entire class of people that weren't as open minded. 'I don't know…,' he said honestly.

Uraraka pulls her legs up to her chest, facing Izuku completely. 'If you're scared, I don't think they'd be weirded out by it. I mean… yeah, it's not entirely normal, but I can see you like Todoroki and well… we _all_ know how you feel about Bakugou.'

Izuku swallowed thickly. 'Everyone knows?'

She smiled apologetically.

Izuku sighed heavily. 'I'll have to talk about it with them.'

She shot him a warm smile, making Izuku instantly feel more at ease. She then turned and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. 'Just look at it this way, if you teach everyone about it, they might become more open-minded as well.'

He chewed on his bottom lip as he thought it over. On the one hand, Uraraka was right and he was getting kind of tired of hiding, but on the other hand it outright terrified him to explain to the entire class he was doing something considered taboo.

Izuku sighed, hearing Uraraka close the door behind her, and dropped himself down on his bed. Reaching out for his phone, he was already sending a message in the group chat they made for the three of them, quickly explaining the situation.

He rolled over, placing the phone on his chest, heavy and warm as he looked up at the ceiling. He snorted at the thought of holding a _Polyamory 101_ class.

Could you even imagine!?


	16. Polyamory 101

'Everybody calm the fuck down!' Katsuki's voice boomed around the classroom.

A small blush was apparent on Izuku's face as he stood next to his boyfriends in front of the class, playing with the hem of his shirt as he definitely didn't want to be there.

Everyone in the class settled down and turned their attention to the three boys standing before them, the gazes making Izuku burn up even more.

He didn't know how he got himself in this situation. The last thing he had expected was to hold an actual Polyamory 101 class, but as word spread around the class of their "unusual" relationship - Uraraka swears she didn't say anything - everybody had been riled up, firing questions at them and demanding answers to things they didn't care to share.

Eventually, the three of them had to cave and promise to hold a class to explain everything to their friends in a reasonable way instead of having to repeat the same answer seventeen times. At least this way they could set their own boundaries…

'Here's how it's gonna work,' Katsuki barked, already having taken on the role as teacher. One glance at Shouto and Izuku knew this was the right call. 'You'll act like a normal class and raise your hand when you have a question. We'll try to explain as best as possible. If we don't want to answer your question, we won't. Go.'

A dozen hands shot into the air. Izuku looked around the classroom, noticing that every seat except of theirs was occupied, but not all of them seemed to want to engage. Katsuki pointed at Yaoyorozu from across the room.

'What exactly is polyamory?' she asked, pink apparent on her cheeks as she looked away.

Izuku took a deep breath and took that as a cue to step forward and explain. 'Polyamory is where there's a relationship with more than one partner, with everyone's consent. That means that I'm dating both Shouto and Kacchan,' he said, gesturing at both of his boyfriends, 'and they both agree with that.'

Katsuki pointed out another raised hand. Tsuyu got to her feet, her finger brought up to her lips as she tilted her head to the side. 'Does that mean that Bakugou-kun and Todoroki-kun are dating each other too?'

Izuku was glad it were easy questions. For now. The worst that could - and probably would - happen, was when the questions would get personal.

'Yeah, they are. It doesn't mean they have to, though. They didn't at first, but they wanted to try and it turned out they liked each other too.'

Izuku encouraged his words with a small smile, hoping it would calm some of the nerves wreaking havoc in his body. He didn't understand why his heart was beating so fast in his chest. They had been preparing for this all night, they should have an answer to everything. Maybe the fact they were sharing something that meant so much to them was just scary…

Kaminari stood up without being called on. 'So does this mean you have a harem?'

Izuku choked on his spit, his face turning tomato red as he coughed and fanned his face, Shouto softly rubbing him on the back.

Izuku glanced up as he saw Katsuki glare across the classroom, making Kaminari cower.

'No, it does not. Think before you talk,' he said curtly, turning his attention away and continuing as if the question had never been asked.

Jiro got to her feet, the sound of her chair scraping on the floor echoing around the room. 'Why did you decide to date each other? Like… why multiple people?'

Izuku was still busying himself on getting his breathing even again, watching as Shouto opened his mouth to answer. 'It just felt right.'

Katsuki rolled his eyes. 'What he's trying to say is, there is no real reason. We just like each other and it happened to end up this way. Does that answer your question?'

A gulf of pride washed over Izuku as he watched his lovers answer the questions so skillfully and calm. To Izuku it was a confirmation that both of them were one hundred percent behind their decision.

'Does that mean you're allowed to sleep with anyone?' Mineta's voice came from across the room.

Katsuki growled under his breath, a sound coming from deep within his chest.

'It's not an open relationship, if that's what you're asking,' Izuku said, placing a hand on Katsuki's chest to keep him in place. 'We're committed to each other and no one else.'

'But what if someone else came along that you like as well?' Mina asked.

Every head in the class turned to her. 'You just said that it can involve multiple people, but you didn't give a limit. Does that mean you can make it as big as you want?'

Izuku took a deep breath. Inhale. Exhale. It wasn't a question he had been expecting, but it was no reason to work himself up over it.

'Theoretically, yes,' he replied. 'But the key parts are trust, love and loyalty, especially if all the people involved are dating each other. How bigger the group, how harder it would become to communicate properly, and it could end up bad.'

Izuku closed his eyes for a second, before looking up again. 'That doesn't mean that it can't happen that someone will come along our path that we could love as well, but for now, it's just the three of us, and I don't see that changing any time soon.'

Mina sat down again, looking not entirely discontent with the answer she received.

'But then what about jealousy?' Iida spoke up. 'That happens even in monogamous relationships and it can create quite some complications.' He emphasized his words with his hands cutting through air, ending it with crossing his arms over his chest as he stared at the three of them in front of the classroom.

Voices started to murmur as they started to agree with him, sparking up a whole other round of questions.

Katsuki raised his hand, setting off a small controlled explosion that immediately quieted everyone. 'He said it before, didn't he? Communication.'

Katsuki looked over at Izuku, grinning, Izuku smiling in return.

'I'm gonna be honest here,' he said, redirecting his gaze towards the class. 'There are times when I want this guy all to myself.' He jerked a thumb in Izuku's direction. 'And it's hard to share, but I know that this is what makes him happy, and it makes me happy too. That's most important.'

'I see,' Iida responded and sank back into his seat.

'Any more questions?' Shouto asked, looking around as more hands shot up into the air again, ending up in a lighting round with each of them replying in turn.

'How do you guys do dates?'

'We mostly hang out in our room and play games.'

'How do you decide who gets to spend time with who? Is it like shared custody?'

'We aren't fucking divorced.'

'Why didn't you tell us earlier?'

'There's some stigma around all of this. We weren't sure if it would get accepted.'

'How do you sleep together?'

'With our fucking eyes closed. Next!'

The class burst out in laughter, the questions becoming less serious by the minute and then just ending up in a small discussion. Katsuki had to glare down Kaminari at least three more times before the yellow-haired guy got the hint that sex related questions were not being answered today.

With the conversation going on more questions popped up, some of which were easy to answer - 'How did you find out about this?' 'Google' - and some that were a bit harder to answer.

'What if one of you decides to end things with the others? Would the other two still continue the relationship?' Uraraka asked as she sat on one of the tables, all students having crowded around the lectern.

Izuku looked over at Katsuki and Shouto who were in a heated discussion with Kirishima and Mina about how they confessed and came to this point, wanting to know how to get two boyfriends or girlfriends themselves.

Izuku closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 'I don't know,' he answered.

He didn't want to think about it, but it was something that could happen. 'I don't think I would be able to. Maybe they could, but to me, it's perfect now. I don't know how they feel about it, but right now it feels as if we balance each other out just right. Take one of them away from that, and the balance would disappear. I can't imagine not having both of them in my life anymore.'

Several cooing noises came from different directions, making blood rush to Izuku's face as he realized how sappy he had just been. He turned away, but several hands kept him in place, forcing him to continue talking to them.

He looked away, breathing deeply as he tried to make the blush disappear.

'What would you do if you wanted to get married?' Tsuyu asked him.

Izuku thought about that for a moment. Polygamous marriages weren't allowed by law, but the thought of marrying just one of them simply didn't feel right either. He shook his head.

'I think we could manage perfectly fine without,' he replied.

Marriage… It was a strange thing to think about. They hadn't been dating for that long and he wasn't even sure if they saw a future like that with him, but he hoped they did. He did.

It might be extremely cheesy and cliché, but Izuku knew that this is what he wanted for the rest of his life.

'You really love them, don't you?' Uraraka asked, voice soft, Izuku the only one able to hear. He looked at her, the smile still apparent on his face.

'I do,' he said. 'I really do.' She gave him a warm smile in return.

They quickly resumed to small talk about their relationship; what kind of dates they had been on, who was the best kisser (not that Izuku would admit that!).

The atmosphere was nice and all the anxiety and curiosity that had been in the air before had completely disappeared, being replaced with a calm and supportive aura.

Even though the words hadn't been spoken, by the way the class was interacting with everyone, Izuku knew they approved of their relationship.

The entire class was laughing as Katsuki threatened Kaminari once again over asking inappropriate questions, everyone freezing in place as the door to the classroom slammed open.

As if coordinated, everyone turned around at once, staring at their teacher standing in the doorway.

Aizawa was dressed in his usual black clothes and binding cloth, heavy bags under his eyes and a disinterested look.

'What on Earth are all of you doing?' he asked, stalking into the classroom and staring everyone down. Almost everyone cringed a little under his glare.

Aizawa turned around, looking at the words _"Polyamory 101"_ written on the chalkboard.

Izuku couldn't see his teacher's expression and it terrified him. Having his class accept this is one thing, but the adults… they were a whole another.

'Who was hosting this class?' Aizawa asked, one eyebrow raised as he turned around.

Slowly, Izuku's, Shouto's and Katsuki's hands went up.

'You,' Aizawa said, black eyes boring straight into Izuku's soul. 'What is polyamory?'

Izuku's hands were trembling as he opened his mouth, unsure of how to answer. He decided to go with the truth. 'W-well.. polyamory is a-a relationship with m-multiple people involved…,' he stammered, watching as his teacher narrowed his eyes at him.

'And you three are involved?' Aizawa asked, looking at Shouto and Katsuki as well. They both nodded.

'So that means the three of you are dating?' he asked Izuku.

Izuku gulped, heart beating frantically in his chest. 'Y-yes.'

Aizawa sighed deeply. 'You three.'

Izuku was nearing a panic attack as he thought about the scolding he was going to get, the words of his teacher not any more soothing as he spoke up.

'Come with me.'

* * *

Izuku walked down the hallway, Shouto and Katsuki in tow was they followed their teacher across the building. Butterflies were fluttering in Izuku's stomach and his mind was racing with a million thoughts.

Usually, the hand on the small of his back would comfort him, but right now, he wished that it wasn't there. Being caught having an unusual relationship was one thing, but getting reprimanded for it was so much worse.

It wasn't that Izuku was ashamed of his relationship, it was that he assumed most adults wouldn't be able to understand and that they would want to try to break them up.

Aizawa stopped in front of the door that lead to the teacher's lounge, and Izuku broke out in a cold sweat. He wasn't going to display them to the entire staff was he…

'Don't just stand there,' Aizawa said, sliding the door open and leading the way. Izuku kept his gaze down as they followed him into the teacher's lounge.

Stopping in the middle of the room, Izuku felt the eyes of every teacher and staff member boring into him. If he could, he would ignite right here, burning up so there was nothing left to judge.

'Everybody, listen up,' Aizawa's voice echoed around the room.

Izuku glanced up, eyes meeting All Might's, the latter wearing an apologetic smile. Izuku really wanted to disappear.

'Does everybody still have their ticket?'

 _Ticket!_? Izuku looked around, watching as every teacher rummaged through their desks and files, all of them pulling up a form of some sort. Izuku was confused, to say the least.

'These three are dating, so whoever didn't vote on that, pay up.'

Several discontent noises made their way to the middle of the room. Izuku barely heard them over the frantic beat of his heart.

When he did notice, he looked up properly, noticing that most of the teachers were arguing with each other, waving the forms around. Their voices raised with every second passing, leaving Izuku, Shouto and Katsuki in the middle of the cacophony, looking around dumbfounded.

Izuku looked back at his boyfriends, Katsuki raising an eyebrow and Shouto simply shrugging.

'Uh.. Aizawa-sensei? What's going on?' Izuku dared to ask.

Aizawa looked down on him, the cold gaze making Izuku want to flinch. 'Nothing that concerns you.'

This raised even more suspicions as Izuku looked around, all of the teachers now yelling and glancing at the three of them every now and then.

'Hold on,' Midnight spoke up, stepping up onto her desk to get the attention of everyone in the room. 'When you say those three are dating, do you mean each other?'

'That is what I mean, yes,' Aizawa replies.

'Ha!' Midnight yelled, looking down at the other teachers. 'I win!'

Izuku's mind was spinning? Win _what_!?

He watched as Katsuki brushed past him, walking up to his teacher, arms crossed. 'Are you going to tell us what the fuck is going on or what?'

Aizawa glared at him. 'Language, Bakugou.'

'Fuck language. Are you playing a game or something?'

'That's exactly what they're doing,' All Might explained as he came up to the small group.

'The fuck? Why!' Katsuki bristled, nostrils flaring in anger.

'Teachers get bored,' Aizawa helpfully explained. 'We place bets to keep ourselves entertained.'

Izuku shook his head, trying to come to his senses. 'You placed bets.. on our relationship?' he said, not wanting to believe any of what was happening.

Aizawa shrugged. 'It's not like we forced any of you together. Just what we thought was likely.'

'And you thought the three of us was likely?' Shouto asked, stepping up next to Izuku as well.

'Actually, most of the teachers voted on Bakugou and Midoriya,' Midnight said, climbing down from her desk.

He and Katsuki? Izuku supposed it made sense. They had been childhood friends and rivals from the first day they set foot in this school.

Still, to imagine a betting pool with the majority of the votes on the two of them… It made Izuku slightly mad.

'So you all put money on Kacchan and me dating?' Izuku said, sounding agitated.

'Not all of us,' All Might added.

'Well, how many people "won" then.' Izuku emphasized his words with air quotes, hopefully showing how ridiculous all of this was.

All Might scratched the back of his neck. 'Three. Me, Midnight and Aizawa.'

Midnight crowded up to Aizawa, placing a hand on his shoulder. Aizawa glared at her, but the gaze didn't seem to affect her in the slightest.

'I always knew the three of you could become something extraordinary,' Midnight cooed.

The anxiety that was present in Izuku's gut had been replaced with anger, his hands shaking as he clenched them into fists.

'Do you think that's funny?' he spat, making the teachers surrounding them raise their eyebrows in surprise.

'It's not funny,' Izuku said, tone ice cold. He felt Shouto and Katsuki press closer to him, the touch making him more confident. 'You're messing with other's people's feelings and that's not okay. I thought you were going to scold us, not ridicule us in front of the entire staff!'

'Oh trust me, I am going to scold you.'

Izuku whipped his head around to look at Aizawa. The man stared at the three of them, eyes narrowed and arms crossed. Izuku's anger seeped away, gulping as he realized he had just stood up against his teachers.

'You're right, Young Midoriya,' All Might said, stepping up to diffuse the situation. 'We're sorry for making such a ridiculous bet.' All Might bent low, expressing his sincerest apologies.

Heat rushed to Izuku's cheeks as he realized his idol was bowing before him. He waved his arms around frantically, muttering about not having to be so formal.

'Does this mean the other bets are off?' Midnight whispered to Aizawa, receiving a well-deserved glare.

Aizawa stepped forward, gaining the attention from his three students again. 'As All Might said, you are right. I apologize.'

Izuku exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding. There was something nice about knowing your feelings weren't unjustified.

'But that doesn't mean that what you three are doing is instantly accepted.'

Izuku cast his eyes down as he swallowed thickly, being forced to follow as his teacher led them away.

* * *

'So, explain to me, how did this happen?' Aizawa asked as soon as the three of them had sat down on the couch.

Aizawa's office wasn't very big and it wasn't usually occupied by more than two or three people. Seeing as there were only three chairs, they had to move the conversation to the couch that was placed alongside the wall.

Aizawa was sitting across them, his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward, his chin in his hands. It gave off an ominous feeling.

Izuku looked at Katsuki and Shouto, not sure who should take the lead in this conversation.

Aizawa sighed and buried his face in his hands before looking back up. 'You,' he commanded, staring at Izuku. 'Tell me.'

'Well, uh,' Izuku started. How should he explain this? He wasn't in the mood to tell the entire story again, nor did he think his teacher wanted to hear all the details.

'Sho-Todoroki asked me out on a date and I decided to go, but then I realized I was also still in love with Kacchan and.. well.. after some research, we decided to do it like this.'

Aizawa nodded. 'You did research?'

Izuku's hands were playing with the hem of his shirt, but he kept his gaze firmly fixated upon Aizawa. 'Yeah.'

'So all three of you know what you're doing?' he asked, eyes grazing over the three of them. Everyone nodded in turn.

Aizawa sighed deeply, but then leaned back in his chair, slightly relaxing. He rested his ankle on his knee, arms crossed on his chest. 'Do you understand that this relationship you have is unconventional?'

Izuku nodded fervently. 'Yes, we do. Which is why we didn't tell the rest of the class at first, but..'

'They figured it out on their own,' Aizawa added. 'They're stupid sometimes, but observant.'

Izuku couldn't help but agree on that. As idiotic as everyone may act sometime, something as big as this wouldn't slip past them that easily.

'What were you even doing in the classroom?'

'We were holding a polyamory class,' Shouto stated matter-of-factly.

Izuku shrank in his seat. It only occurred to him now that they might've needed permission for that.

'That means the entire class is educated on the subject?'

'For as much as we could teach them, yes,' Shouto responded.

Izuku glanced over at him, noticing how casually Shouto was sitting on the couch. His body language was a near exact image of their teacher's, though much more comfortable.

Katsuki, on the other hand, was tense. A frown was apparent on his face and the tension could be seen in every part of his body.

Izuku liked to think he was somewhere in between (or at least, that's what he hoped).

'I'm not going to give you another sex ed class,' Aizawa started, watching Izuku from the corner of his eye as the boy turned red. 'But I do want you to be careful.'

Katsuki huffed. 'Yeah, sure. Don't put the image of UA to shame, don't let your feelings intertwine with class. That stuff right?'

Aizawa glared at the blond, but knowing it never had the desired effect, stopped straining his eyes and went back to a neutral, tired expression. 'That is also important. But I meant with yourselves. You're young and still growing. You might think this is what you want now, but children your age fall in and out of love every other day. I don't want you to come crying to me when one of you break up, or when you're having a fight. Be responsible.'

To say this was the last thing Izuku had expected his teacher to say was an understatement: he could never have imagined in a million years to get relationship advice. From a _teacher._

Maybe it was to prevent them from running to Aizawa when things went bad and the man was simply too lazy to deal with it, or he actually cared about none of them getting hurt. Either way, Izuku took the advice to heart.

'We will,' he said resolutely.

Aizawa nodded. 'I advise you not to tell everyone else in the school about your relationship. I know class A well enough to know they won't be spreading it to outside sources, but I'm unsure about everyone else.'

All of them nodded, understanding that something like this could be considered a scandal that could ruin both the school and their future careers.

'Besides that, the ground rules for Heights Alliance still apply to you. No sex in the dorms, keep your private life private and for fuck's sake-' Izuku's eyes widened at hearing his teacher curse '-make it a little less obvious.'

For the so manieth time that day, blood rushed to Izuku's face, making him sputter incomprehensible words.

'We'll make sure of that,' Katsuki said, grabbing Izuku's wrist and pulling him to his feet as he stumbled towards the door.

'If you break any of those rules, you _will_ get punished,' Aizawa warned threateningly.

Katsuki slammed the door behind him, Izuku still pulling himself together as he stared at Shouto's back.

Izuku was in a near dazed state as Katsuki and Shouto led him to Katsuki's room, plunging down on his bed and instantly ending up being cuddled from both sides.

While Shouto's fingers combed through Izuku's curls, Izuku pouted. 'It's kind of too bad we're not allowed to have sex anymore…,' he said.

He felt Katsuki's chest vibrate as the blond chuckled, a hand on Izuku's chin as he was forced to look at him. 'Is that really what you're worried about?'

Izuku pulled away, tripping over his words. 'W-well, it's not the most important thing but… I kinda liked it? I can definitely live without it, cause I don't want to get punished but I'm just saying it's such a shame-' Izuku rambled, being interrupted by Katsuki pushing himself up and hovering over Izuku.

Hot lips pressed against his as he feels Katsuki's lips curl up. 'Who says we have to stop?'


	17. Hot and Cold

'Look!' Mina yelled, making everyone in the classroom except for their teacher follow her finger that was pointed at the window. Izuku's eyes opened wide in awe, watching as the snow slowly drifted down, a certain feeling of excitement bubbling up in his chest.

In an instant, chairs were shoved backwards and nearly everyone had ran to the window, pressing against it to get a closer look at the snow.

'Have you never seen snow before?' Aizawa sighed, knowing fully well that the coming of it meant that their class was over.

'Of course we have,' Uraraka answered, nose square against the glass. 'But it's been four years since we last had snow. We should celebrate!'

'Do I have to remind you we still have class for the next twenty minutes?' Aizawa replied.

Izuku watched as Uraraka looked over her shoulder at their teacher, lower lip stuck out, eyes wide and pleading. Aizawa brought his hand to his face and sighed again. Izuku smiled at how easy the man gave in when it came to them.

Aizawa lifted his head, staring into the eyes of twenty expectant students. 'Fine. Go.'

Everyone cheered and jumped up, rushing over to their seats to get their belongings before racing out of the room.

'But if any of you get sick, you'll get detention,' Aizawa warned threateningly, though everybody knew the words carried no heat.

Izuku was right up front with the most enthusiastic group, running outside and staring up, the cold snowflakes landing on his face and in his eyes, making him tear up and rub them as Shouto made his way over, worrying over him.

Izuku smirked. 'It's fine, it's just water,' he assured him.

Izuku chuckled as he saw Kaminari biting at the snow, Mina doubling over in laughter. Most of class A was running around, enjoying their first snow in forever.

After the initial amazement wore off, Izuku decided to retreat to Katsuki's side.

'Look at those idiots. It's just frozen water,' Katsuki said.

'I know you like snow too, Kacchan,' Izuku cooed. Izuku watched as the tips of Katsuki's ears turned red, the blond turning away hoping it wouldn't get noticed.

'I wonder if it'll stay,' Shouto said as he pressed up against Katsuki's other side.

'I'm pretty sure it will,' Izuku replied as he looked at the ground. Around his feet the snow was already slowly piling up.

Within minutes the snowfall started to get heavier and Iida quickly did his job as class president to guide everyone back to the dorms to prevent them from catching a cold; a school uniform wasn't really fit for this weather after all.

On their way to the dorms Izuku gawked at the winter wonderland unfolding before their eyes. The snow started to build on the trees and bushes spread around campus and, combined with the soft light of the setting sun, creating a near magical picture.

As they rounded the corner they could already see Heights Alliance, also illuminated by the streetlights that started glowing around the entrance.

Izuku rubbed his hands together and blew some hot air into them. He shivered as some snowflakes found their way into the back of his uniform, melting and creating a cold trickle down his spine.

His hands were pried away from him from both sides as both Shouto and Katsuki took hold of them. With their Quirks both having some element of heat in them, Izuku indulged in the warm touch.

'You're gonna get a cold like this,' Katsuki muttered.

Izuku smiled sheepishly. 'Guess we gotta get inside quick.'

They nearly made it to the entrance when suddenly Izuku's right hand was being crushed in Katsuki's grip.

'Ow!' Izuku exclaimed as he tried to pull himself free, looking over at Katsuki whose face was aimed at the ground. From his blond spikes, pieces of snow were falling down into the back of his jacket. The hand that was clasped around Izuku's was shaking and slowly heating up.

'Kacchan,' Izuku said, reaching out, having pulled his left hand from Shouto's grip, but before he could reach him, Katsuki let go and turned on his heel, bending down low and gathering snow before throwing it with such ferocity that it was barely visible for the naked eye, hitting Eijiro straight in the face. Eijiro laughed as he wiped the snow out of his eyes.

'Do you think that's fucking funny, shitty hair!?' Katsuki all but growled.

Izuku stepped forward, placing himself between the two guys, his back towards Eijiro. 'Easy, Kacchan,' he said.

'I'm not a horse, you idiot,' Katsuki snarled.

'It's just a snowball,' Izuku said in his most soothing tone. Katsuki was still steaming and it seemed as if Izuku's intervention alone wouldn't be enough.

'How about we hold a snowball fight?' Shouto proposed, stepping up to calm Katsuki down as well.

Katsuki stopped trembling, took a deep breath and stood a little straighter. 'Fine,' Katsuki replied, already bending down to scoop up more snow.

'There will be no snowball fights of any kind before everyone has changed into the right winter attire!' Iida's voice cut through the tension. The dark-haired guy stepped up between Katsuki and Eijiro, his hands cutting through air and the snow dwindling down. 'I request for everyone to change out of their uniform and into something more fitting before catching a cold!'

Katsuki clicked his tongue and glanced past Iida, but the tall male just moved aside to block his view.

'That means you too, Bakugou.'

Katsuki rolled his eyes. 'Fine. Meet back here in twenty. If you're not here you're dead. Well.. even if you _are_ here, I'll still kill you.'

Eijiro chuckled as Katsuki turned on his heel, his hands deep in his pockets. Izuku couldn't help but smile at seeing the blond retract to his old habits that fast over something as stupid as a snowball.

'Let's go inside as well,' Shouto said, putting his hand on the small of Izuku's back and guiding him forward.

Everyone's excitement buzzed around the entire dorms as they all hurried to change as fast as they could. The girls quickly got ear of the situation and spread the invitation out to everyone to join.

Kaminari declared it a war between boys and girls, but seeing as that division was quite unfair, they somehow ended up in the cold again, picking teams.

Izuku pulled his scarf closer to his mouth, shivering as Shouto wrapped his left arm around his shoulder, trying to heat him up. The soft falling of snow had quickly turned into a near all out blizzard, covering the area in almost two inches of snow already.

Katsuki and Eijiro stood on either sides of the imaginary court while the rest of the class stood aside, waiting to be picked. Somehow the two of them had chosen themselves as captains, choosing one of their classmates in turn.

'I pick IcyHot,' Katsuki said, giving pointed looks to his boyfriend.

Izuku pouted. Why wasn't he picked first?

'Great,' Ejiro praised, 'then I pick Midoriya!'

Heat rushed to Izuku's cheeks as he shuffled his way towards Eijiro's side, pointedly keeping his gaze fixated on the ground to avoid Katsuki's stare. He chewed on his bottom lip. It wasn't his fault he wasn't picked first… Even if he was, then Eijiro would probably have chosen Shouto.

The redhead probably didn't care whether they were strong teammates, as long as it'd annoy Katsuki, it was the right choice.

After the first few picks were made, the teams were quickly complete. Both teams stood on opposite sides of the court, some of them whispering about strategies while others were already picking up the snow to throw.

For whoever knows what reason, Midnight had shown up, dressed in tights, leg warmers, a short skirt and a woolen coat. She stood in the middle, diving the court between the two teams evenly.

'The rules are simple. Throwing ice is not allowed, neither are Quirks. Last man standing wins. Go!'

She brought her hand down, signaling the start of the fight.

Everyone quickly dove down, starting on fortresses to hide behind or gathering snow to throw. Izuku dodged to the side as Uraraka threw a snowball at him, barely grazing his hair.

Izuku chuckled as he pressed the snow in his hands into a ball, the cold seeping through his gloves and making him shiver a little.

As he threw the first snowball, he forgot about the cold. Watching Sero get hit square in the face was too hilarious, making Izuku nearly double over, just regaining his senses as another snowball from a different direction made its way towards him.

The cold snowball hit his neck, making pieces of snow crawl down into his shirt. He patted his shirt to make it melt faster and make it less cold.

Izuku ran across the field, dodging six or seven snowballs that were thrown his way to group up with Eijiro who was hiding behind a fortress Kaminari had whipped up. Several snowballs flew over their heads as he ducked down.

'Hey Midoriya!' Kaminari greeted.

Izuku flashed him a sheepish smile. This wasn't really the time to have casual conversations. They needed battle strategies.

Izuku turned around and peeked over the edge, noticing that Shouto and Katsuki were standing the middle of the field, back to back, working together as they made round after round of snowballs, all the while protecting themselves too.

Izuku sighed and slid back down. 'They're such a great team. We can't win.'

Izuku shrieked as a load of snow was dumped right on top of his head, glaring at Eijiro who was staring down hard at him. 'We're not giving up without a fight,' the redhead declared.

Izuku pouted as he brushed the snow out of his hair. 'I never said we would.'

'Good,' Eijiro said, determination in his voice as he crouched down again.

'So here's what we're gonna do.'

* * *

Katsuki grit his teeth as he ducked to dodge another snowball. 'We have to move forward,' Shouto said from behind him.

Katsuki quickly stepped to the side before shoving a handful of snow straight into Mineta's face, making the small guy splutter and tear up before running away.

'Infiltrate the enemy's quarters? Are you crazy? We're good here,' Katsuki retorted.

Shouto couldn't deny that their current defense strategy was working a lot on the eager people, the ones that went forward without thinking it through, such as Mina or Aoyama.

Their strategy, however, didn't work very well for the people with endurance. Izuku was one of those. If they wanted to win before freezing their asses off, they'd have to move and forcefully take them down.

'It's just going to end up in a fight of endurance and you and I both know how long that can get,' Shouto stated.

Katsuki huffed. He and Shouto would last the longest considering heat, due to the fact their Quirks raised their body temperature and were thus more cold-resistant than others.

Considering perseverance… Katsuki knew Shouto was right. They would either have to attack or wait it out, and that could take hours.

Out of the corners of his eyes, Katsuki saw something green flash towards him and Shouto, so he pushed the other male aside before something slammed into his body and took him down.

Katsuki cursed and flailed under Izuku's weight; the guy was heavier than he looked.

Katsuki was able to pull up his knee and place it against the smaller guy's abdomen, pushing him off and huffing as he got to his feet.

'What the hell, Deku!?' he snapped.

Izuku smirked as he propped himself up on his elbows. 'There are no rules against tackling. Free for all, remember?'

Katsuki was steaming at the cocky smirk his normally-so-damn-cute boyfriend was giving him.

'Yeah!? Then how about this!' Katsuki growled, scooping up as much snow as he could and holding it above Izuku's head, the latter rolling over just in time not to get buried.

In an instant, Izuku got to his feet and was holding up a snowball as well, aiming it at Katsuki's head, trying to throw as fast as he could before the other male could dodge.

Katsuki did dodge, which made the snowball's trajectory change from Katsuki's face to the back of Shouto's neck. Shouto looked over his shoulder, seemingly unamused, but Katsuki noticed the small smile on his lips.

'You can't just storm into enemy territory, you idiot,' Katsuki snapped.

'Why not? Everyone's doing it.'

Katsuki stood still, snow in between his hands as he looked around, analyzing the situation. Without either of them noticing, their half of the court had been stormed by the other team, and nearly every one of their team members had been taken down.

Izuku cocked his head to the side, his pudgy freckled cheeks still giving him a baby face, his unruly curls making him seem so innocent, but the smile on his face maniacal.

'I guess you should've picked me first.'

From out his back, Izuku pulled a snowball nearly twice the size of Katsuki's head. Katsuki wonders when Izuku had the time to make it.

In one swift motion, Izuku raised it and slammed it into Katsuki's head, making the blond stagger back against Shouto and take him down as he saw nothing but black and white.

* * *

Izuku smiled triumphantly as he took down the last two standing on the other team.

Hagakure and Tsuyu cheered as they realized their team had won and Eijiro slapped Izuku on the back for delivering the final blow.

'That was fun,' Izuku said, looking down at Katsuki and Shouto.

Shouto slowly pushed himself up, shaking his head and sweeping his bangs out of his face. Izuku crouched down, offering him a hand. Shouto took it as he pulled the guy up.

'Are you okay?' Izuku asked.

'Yeah, I'm fine,' Shouto responded. 'It was just a bit unexpected.'

He became silent as he looked over at Katsuki who was still lying on the ground. 'I'm more worried about him.'

Izuku followed Shouto's gaze and noticed that Katsuki still wasn't moving. He was okay, right..?

Midnight quickly made her way over. Izuku fell down on his knees beside him. 'Kacchan? Kacchan!? Are you okay?'

His voice was quickly filled with panic, hysteria flaring up in his chest. What if he hurt him? With a stupid snowball fight! He had to be okay.. he was okay.. he needed to be..

Izuku reached out and took Katsuki's hand. It was still warm, which was good. 'Kacchan, wake up. Please.'

He brushed the snow out of Katsuki's face, though most of it had already melted. He didn't care how angry Katsuki would be when he woke up, he just wanted the blond to be okay.

Izuku exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding as Katsuki grunted and opened his eyes, blinking away the remainder of snow. He looked a little confused as his eyes focused on Izuku. '

Fuck,' Katsuki cursed, retracting his hand from Izuku's grip and pushing himself up.

He rubbed his hand over his forehead, a headache making his mind hazy.

'I'm sorry,' Izuku said, on the verge of tears. He had let himself get too excited, too wound up with the idea of winning. It was just a stupid snowball fight, he didn't _have_ to win.

'What are you sorry for, nerd?' Katsuki muttered, brushing his hair back and meeting Izuku's eyes.

'You were right, I should've picked you first.'

Tears started flowing freely down Izuku's cheeks as he lurched forward and wrapped his arms around Katsuki. 'Fucking hell. Stop crying every time something happens.'

Izuku shook his head. 'I shouldn't have hurt you,' he hiccupped.

Katsuki put his hands on Izuku's shoulders and pushed him away so he could meet his gaze. 'You did a great job. You won. I can deal with a fucking headache, okay?'

Izuku wiped his tears, smiling, even though it was shaky. 'I did win,' he said.

'Yeah, you did. Now stop whining and go claim your fucking victory.'

Izuku nodded and let Shouto help him to his feet, going off to celebrate their winning with his team mates.

Shouto crouched down next to Katsuki. 'Are you sure you're okay?' Shouto asked.

Katsuki growled low. 'No. I'm not. I'm freezing my ass off. Help me get inside and take a bath.'

Shouto chuckled as he got this feet and extended his arm towards Katsuki, who took it.

Shouto wrapped his arm around Katsuki's shoulder and supported the blond as they went back inside.

* * *

'Are you sure you're okay?' Izuku said as he sat down next to Katsuki in the hot water, hissing as his limbs started to thaw.

'I told you, I'm fine. Stop worrying,' Katsuki replied, his chin leaning on the edge of the wooden tub. Izuku noticed how relaxed the blond seemed in the bath.

'Though maybe next time you shouldn't throw a snowball twice the size of someone's head,' Sero joked from the other side of the bathroom.

Izuku pouted. 'It was Kirishima's idea!' he countered, though everybody just laughed in response.

'Yeah, I'm sorry for that, bro,' Eijiro said as he came up to the tub.

Katsuki just bared his teeth at the other male. 'You're lucky I'm comfortable in this bath or else I would be kicking your ass.'

Eijiro chuckled and stepped in, settling on the other side of Katsuki with his face turned up to the ceiling, enjoying the warmth after the cold as well.

'Do you think they'll give us tomorrow off?' Izuku wondered aloud.

'No way. It's just a little snow,' Katsuki said.

'It was a _lot_ of snow,' Eijiro countered.

'The school is five minutes from here.'

'We could freeze during the walk there!' Kaminari called out.

'Nobody asked you, Pikachu!' Katsuki growled as he turned around and threw his towel across the tub. Kaminari ducked just in time. The rest of the boys burst out in laughter.

'I'm getting out. You're all idiots, you know?' Katsuki called as he got to his feet and stepped out of the water. 'Except for you two of course,' he added as he passed Shouto and Izuku, making Izuku smile fondly.

Izuku watched as Katsuki wrapped a towel around his waist and headed for the showers to rinse off.

'Babe, you're staring,' Shouto said, startling Izuku. His heart was beating frantically in his chest as heat rushed to his cheeks, both from being caught and being called babe. That was a first.

Izuku looked back longingly as Katsuki got to his feet. He couldn't deny that Katsuki was incredibly handsome – especially when naked, when you could see the broad muscles of his back – but it was a tad bit embarrassing to be caught staring. It didn't really help that he was imagining doing a whole lot of other things to that naked body of his…

'I'm getting out too,' Izuku said resolutely and got to his feet, clutching the towel tightly over his crotch as he power walked to the showers.

He turned the knob to "cold", cursing himself as he rinsed off and then headed for the locker room.

'Got too hot for you in there?' Katsuki smirked as Izuku faced the lockers, hands working fast to put his clothes back on.

Izuku huffed. 'Like I didn't notice the same for you.' Katsuki opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out.

Izuku simply laughed to himself as he put on his boxers, a warm hand on his cold skin making him look up. Izuku stared into Katsuki's red eyes, filled with lust, looking down on him as if he were prey.

'We can't,' Izuku said, putting one hand on Katsuki's chest to fend him off.

'Oh come on, nobody's coming back yet,' Katsuki argued, pressing his lips against Izuku's neck. Izuku nearly moaned just from that touch.

Honestly, he was quite touch starved after the rule Aizawa had put upon them. Even though Katsuki – and sometimes even Shouto – tried to break it, Izuku just didn't really feel comfortable, knowing that all of his classmates _and_ his teacher knew they were doing it. So he had held off from having sex with them, which ultimately led to this.

Katsuki's hands glided over Izuku's body, over the toned abs he had trained so hard on, over his sensitive nipples, down his thigh… Izuku shuddered.

'I'll be quick,' Katsuki murmured in Izuku's ear. Izuku bit on his lower lip.

'Please don't be,' he practically moaned back.

Katsuki's hands gently turned him around, Izuku's back now pressed against the cold lockers. Katsuki tugged on the hem of Izuku's boxers, making his erection spring free.

Katsuki got to his knees and panic flared in Izuku's chest as he realized what he was about to do. He flailed his arms.

'No, no! You don't have to do that, that's gross!'

Katsuki stared up, red eyes boring into green. 'You did it for me too, and it wasn't gross back then, so it isn't gross now.'

Katsuki stuck out his tongue as Izuku hid his face behinds his hands, his cheeks burning as Katsuki lapped up the pre-cum that was leaking from Izuku's cock.

Katsuki licked down the length of Izuku's cock, giving extra attention to the head. Izuku bit on his fingers as Katsuki popped the head into his mouth and sucked on it.

Izuku was sure this was Katsuki's first blowjob, but the guy seemed to be a pro at it. He hollowed out his cheeks as he went down on Izuku, easily taking his entire length. It made Izuku question whether Katsuki was that great or he was just small.

With how little free time he had to masturbate and how often he refused to do it with any of his boyfriends, Izuku had gotten more sensitive. Katsuki only came down for the fourth time, the tip of Izuku's cock hitting the back of Katsuki's throat, when Izuku came.

Izuku didn't know if he should feel pride or shame as he watched Katsuki swallow it all and then lap up whatever was left on Izuku's cock itself.

Izuku wanted to reach out, to make Katsuki feel good too, only then noticing that the blond was jerking himself off.

Izuku crouched too, wrapping one arm around Katsuki's shoulder as he went in for a kiss, the other wrapping around the base of Katsuki's dick. Katsuki went to protest, but gasped as Izuku started pumping.

Izuku knew the blond forgot sometimes that Izuku was more experienced and knew all of Katsuki's sweet spots.

It didn't take long before nails were digging in Izuku's back as Katsuki came into Izuku's hand.

Katsuki looked up, his brows knitted together.

Izuku tilted his head to the side as he pushed himself to his feet, wiping his hands and the floor with his towel before throwing it into the laundry bin. He busied himself with putting his clothes on, not noticing as Katsuki buried his nose in the crook of Izuku's neck again.

'We just did it,' Izuku whined.

'Is not that,' Katsuki growled as he wrapped his arms around Izuku's chest and pulled him closer.

'Spend more time with us,' he murmured.

Izuku reached out and carded his hand through wet, blond spikes. 'I'm already spending nearly all of my time with you.'

'Then give us all your fucking time, okay?'

Izuku chuckled and pulled away, leaning up to give Katsuki a kiss. 'I still have friends and family, but I promise you that as soon as we get married, I'm all yours.'

Katsuki raised his eyebrows. 'You want to get married? With us?'

Izuku wished he could disappear right now. He had never meant to say that! But… it was true. He thought. 'I.. I think so? Maybe?' He scratched the back of his neck. 'We're pretty young so it's too early to say that but.. but at least for now, I'm all yours. I promise!'

Katsuki smirked as he pulled back. 'I'm all yours too.'

He turned and picked up his toiletries. 'Let's go to the common room,' he said, ruffling Izuku's hair on the way out.

Izuku smiled. 'Yeah.'

* * *

'So when are we allowed to ask about your sex life?' Kaminari whined.

'Never,' Shouto simply stated, continuing to run his fingers through Izuku's hair who was sitting in his lap. Katsuki was pressed up against Shouto's left side, savoring the heat that came off of it.

'Why not? We all know you're doing it,' Mina joined in.

'It's not like it's a secret,' Jirou added.

Izuku pushed out his lower lip. 'Still, it's private. We're not asking about your sex lives are we?'

'If that's the issue, I have no problem to share,' Uraraka said as she plopped down on the floor in front of where the crowd had gathered around the couch in the common room. 'Tsuyu and I have a perfectly healthy sex life. We even discuss what toys we use and regularly buy new ones so-'

'Oh my god, shut up, I don't need to know,' Katsuki barked, though a blush was apparent on his cheeks. 'What you do in the bedroom is your business, but we're not sharing.'

The girls all pouted and put on puppy eyes, even some of the boys joined in, but the three of them had agreed not to tell. It had been the topic of discussion a while ago, though it hadn't been very lengthy. Neither of them were ashamed of their relationship or the sexual acts that were involved, but they'd just rather keep it quiet.

'It can help improve your sex life if you talk about it,' Eijiro said, wiggling his eyebrows at Katsuki.

Katsuki just rolled his eyes. 'How do you know.'

Eijiro shrugged. 'Mina and I talk about it with Denki and Kyouka from time to time.'

Katsuki's eyes widened as the rest of the class looked at them.

'You? And Mina?' Katsuki scoffed.

Eijiro crossed his arms over his chest. 'While you got busy, I did too.'

Katsuki rolled his eyes and looked away. 'Whatever. I'm happy for you, I guess.'

Eijiro beamed, all of his shark teeth visible. 'Thanks, bro! Anyways, it does really help. You can get tips from others.'

'I don't need tips from others,' Katsuki replied.

'Our sex life is good, thanks for asking,' Shouto added, hoping to quiet everyone.

Izuku kept quiet. He didn't really have much to add, especially after the shock of learning how sexually active his classmates really were.

'Well, then at least tell us how threesomes are!' Uraraka practically yelled, pulling all attention to her.

Now, the three of them were speechless. Izuku exchanged glances with Katsuki and Shouto, all three of them drawing a blank. 'I.. I don't know,' Izuku admitted honestly.

'You never tried?' Hagakure asked, disbelief in her voice.

Izuku slumped a little. That topic of discussion had been brought up and dismissed multiple times. It's not like they didn't want to, it was just awkward and impractical. Their beds were too small, they could barely lie on it with the three of them, let alone other activities.

Besides, even though neither of them would admit it, it was embarrassing. None of them were really a top or bottom person, they were all switches, so figuring out who went where when completely naked was something that made panic rise in Izuku's throat.

The thought of it also somehow seemed a lot less.. intimate. Of course they had seen enough porn to figure out how it worked, but it seemed more of a necessity, a way to please all three at once, than an act of love. It's what held them back the most.

'I don't want to talk about it,' Izuku said, crawling out of Shouto's lap.

'Wait, Deku,' Uraraka called.

'I'm sorry,' Izuku said as he turned and headed for the elevators, leaving everyone behind.

He had only spent about five minutes alone before someone knocked at his door and invited themselves in. Shouto walked in, closely followed by Katsuki who closed the door behind him.

Shouto sat down on the edge of Izuku's bed, hauling Izuku over into his lap before leaning back against the wall. Katsuki settled at Deku's feet, laying them over his own legs.

'I told them to stop fucking asking. I'm going to beat them up next time,' Katsuki threatened.

Izuku sighed. 'No, it's fine. It's not their fault.'

'Then what's wrong?' Shouto asked.

Izuku sighed again and lifted Shouto's arms to bury his face in. 'It's just.. I want to try, you know?' Izuku muttered into Shouto's arms, probably barely audible. 'But.. I'm also scared. What if it's not what we expected it to be? What if it's awkward and messy?'

Izuku groaned. 'What if we break the bed?'

He felt Shouto's chest vibrate lightly as he laughed.

Shouto moved his arms away from Izuku's face and instead placed a hand under Izuku's chin, coaxing him to look up. Shouto leaned down and pressed their lips together.

'Even if it's awkward and messy, even if we break the bed, even if it's not what we expect it to be, it'll still be us. If we try it and decide it doesn't work, nothing will change. Same for if it does work. It matters the most that we're together, right?'

Izuku averted his gaze. He hummed softly in agreement. Shouto was right, but it still scared him. Somehow this made him more nervous than his first time.

'Look, it's not like we'll force you or anything,' Katsuki spoke up. 'We can try and if you get scared, we can stop. You trust us enough for that, right?'

Izuku nodded hesitantly. He did trust them enough for that, enough for even way more than that. He'd trust them with his life.

'I.. I want to try,' Izuku murmured.

'Ha? What's that?' Katsuki teased, one eyebrow raised. Izuku wanted to yell at him for toying around like that.

'I said I want to try!' Izuku spoke up, pushing himself upright.

Katsuki pushed Izuku's legs off of him and got to his knees, crawling over to where Izuku was in Shouto's lap and hovering over him.

He licked his lips seductively as Shouto's hands travelled under Izuku's shirt, meeting skin.

Izuku's heart was beating in his throat, but he couldn't deny the sight before him was incredibly hot.

He didn't think Katsuki could become any more attractive until he spoke up with the most lust filled voice Izuku had ever heard:

'Then let's do it.'


	18. Three's the charm

Izuku had no idea how it had ended up like this so fast as his back was lying against Katsuki's bare chest, his hand clamped over his mouth as he tried to keep his voice down with Shouto between his legs.

'No need to keep your voice down,' Katsuki breathed into Izuku's ear, letting go of Izuku's leg to pry his hand away.

'We'll get.. get caught,' Izuku struggled to say as Shouto stretched him open further, his breath hitching. Shouto was already knuckle deep inside Izuku, thrusting in slow and steady, working Izuku's hole open. With his free hand, he reached back, prepping himself as well.

'We won't,' Shouto assured, and Izuku dared to glance down. Shouto's face was covered in a slight blush, eyes half lidded, mouth hanging open. Izuku's heart sped up at the sight.

Katsuki's breath ghosted over Izuku's naked skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake. With every breath the blond took, Izuku's body moved along with it.

Izuku didn't know how to feel. With Shouto's fingers thrusting deep inside, pleasure was coursing through his body, making his mind hazy and unable to form coherent thoughts. At the same time, a flutter of anxiety was roiling in his gut, still unsure of how this would work; _if_ it would work at all.

'I'm ready,' Shouto said, pulling his fingers from his own ass with a squelch, placing them instead at the base of his cock and stroking its length.

'How about you?' Katsuki asked.

Izuku looked up, the heat in his cheeks making it feel like he was burning. 'Y-yeah,' he panted, already high on ecstasy.

Shouto retracted his hand, making Izuku suddenly feel empty. He wanted to whine about it, but didn't have any time to as Shouto already lined up his cock with Izuku's hole and thrusted in, easily bottoming out.

Izuku gasped and moaned as he was pushed back further against Katsuki's chest.

'Fuck,' Katsuki hissed, hands releasing both of Izuku's legs. They were quickly replaced by Shouto's, pushing them back until Izuku was nearly folded in half.

Katsuki's arm wrapped around Izuku's waist, pulling him closer to him, while the other took hold of Izuku's cock.

Shouto leaned down to press his lips against Izuku's and Izuku reached out, wrapping his arms around Shouto's neck.

'I'm going to move,' Shouto exclaimed, hair clinging to his forehead. Izuku bit on his lower lip and nodded, wrapping his legs around Shouto's waist to hold on.

As Shouto pulled back and snapped his hips forward, Katsuki started stroking the length of Izuku's cock, making the smaller guy cry from pleasure.

After so many times, Shouto knew exactly how to hit the right spots, making Izuku melt and become a drooling mess with the first couple of thrusts.

'Stay with me, babe,' Katsuki said, wiping away the drool that was pouring from Izuku's mouth with his thumb, while at the same time tilting Izuku's head upward to steal a kiss.

Izuku moaned as Shouto buried his nose in the crook of Izuku's neck, inhaling deeply.

As pleasure was going through his body in short bursts, tension was already building up in Izuku's stomach.

Izuku gasped, trying to form words, but everything came out garbled as his vision turned white. He clung onto Katsuki desperately as Shouto thrusted in a few more times before he came as well, filling Izuku's insides with hot cum.

All of Izuku's anxiety disappeared as he fell into a post-orgasmic bliss, not quite registering it as he was flipped over, mouth hovering over Katsuki's cock. He was on his hands and knees, Shouto gripping onto his hips as he finally came back to his senses.

Izuku leaned down, his hand wrapping around Katsuki's cock, tongue lapping at the pre-cum that was leaking from it. Cum trickled from his hole down his thigh, but he paid it no mind as he focused on making Katsuki feel good too.

Hands dug into his hair, tugging at the roots, forcing Katsuki's cock deeper down his throat and making him nearly gag. Tears were forming in the corner of Izuku's eyes as his head bobbed up and down Katsuki's length, knowing it was all worth it as he heard Katsuki moan and curse.

Izuku glanced up, eyes glistening with tears as Katsuki covered his face with his hand, head thrown back, breathing heavily.

Izuku felt something pressing against his back and Shouto's cold hand traveled over his body as the dual-user reached out for Katsuki, pulling him forward to lock lips.

Izuku lowered his ass to give them easier access, nearly smiling as he saw how passionate they were together, even though they both denied wanting to go out at first.

'What's there to smile about, nerd?' Katsuki teased as he looked down, seeing the content look on Izuku's face, one hand wrapped around the back of Shouto's neck.

'I think he's good to go again,' Katsuki smirked, stealing glances at Shouto.

From his position down in Katsuki's lap, Izuku couldn't see Shouto's reaction, but as hands were pressing into Izuku's thighs, encouraging him to lift his ass, Izuku was slightly panicking.

He was still sensitive and sore, not ready yet for another round. His refractory time wasn't _that_ short.

He was already moving his head away from Katsuki, ready to protest, as strong hands pushed him back down, his nose deep into blond curls.

Unable to talk back from this position, he couldn't stop as Shouto pushed back inside. His hole ached as Shouto's cock stretched it yet again, but at the same time it felt so good that he no longer minded.

Katsuki was bucking his hips into Izuku's mouth, effectively fucking his throat raw. Izuku did his best to keep up, but as Shouto pushed in from the back and Katsuki from the front, Izuku no longer knew what he wanted.

His body desperately tried to take over, rolling his hips and pushing back, while his tongue wrapped around Katsuki's cock at the same time.

Izuku was slowly getting overwhelmed with senses and urges, fighting hard to keep control, but losing himself in the process.

Tears were streaming down his face as Shouto grabbed his still hard cock that was bouncing between his legs with every thrust, pumping it again.

Izuku wanted to scream from how good everything felt, eyes rolling back into his head as Shouto hit his prostate and making stars appear, but at the same time, Izuku wanted to stop. It was too much for him, and he didn't know how long he could keep up.

His entire body was hot and covered in sweat while being pressed against two others from both sides. Izuku noticed Katsuki's grip on him was faltering and knew the blond was coming close.

Izuku pulled back, licking his lips that were covered in pre-cum, Katsuki's cock glistening and wet.

A hand cupped his face, making him look up as Katsuki came down for a kiss, hungry and needy. Upon pulling back, a string of saliva connected them.

'Are you still holding out?' Katsuki whispered, so soft that Shouto was unable to hear. Izuku wanted to say yes, he felt so good and he wanted to make his partners feel great too, but he could feel his legs shaking and his heart beating rapidly in his chest.

His lower lip was trembling and apparently Katsuki noticed as the guy turned away to yell at Shouto.

The hand wrapped around Izuku's cock disappeared and Shouto pulled out. The grip on his thighs faltered as Izuku crashed to the mattress, tears streaming down his face as cum was leaking onto the sheets.

'Fuck,' Katsuki cursed.

'You should've said something,' he muttered, more quietly.

'Are you okay?' Shouto's worried voice joined in.

Izuku nodded, trembling hands raised to wipe away the tears. 'F-felt t-too good,' he stammered, pushing himself up. More cum leaked from his hole onto the mattress, but he couldn't find the energy to care.

'How about you take a break,' Katsuki said.

Izuku nodded reluctantly. He wanted to feel full and hot inside, but his body was acting up against him and it would be for the better.

Izuku switched places with Katsuki and watched, his chest going up and down rapidly, as Shouto and Katsuki entangled themselves.

It was nothing like the way Izuku made love to either of them, the two of them licking the inside of each other's mouth hungrily, seemingly desperate to touch.

As Shouto laid down against Izuku's chest, he could feel how sticky his boyfriend's skin had become.

With the way Katsuki pushed in, nipping at Shouto's skin with his teeth and thrusting in roughly, Izuku wondered if either of them held back for his sake.

At that moment, Izuku didn't care, eyes trained on the action happening before him. Izuku's hands roamed over Shouto's abs, feeling the hot skin beneath his touch, the loud moans and mewls so close he could nearly feel them vibrate in his own chest.

Katsuki's movements became more erratic as he seemingly got closer to climaxing, holding onto Shouto's hair and coming down for a kiss as he came.

It was kind of weird for Izuku to see his two boyfriend's having sex with each other. Whenever he did, it was always just him with Shouto or Katsuki, never the both of them.

But besides slightly off putting, it was also very hot. Izuku could feel his cock twitching as it laid against Shouto's back.

Katsuki looked up, locking eyes with Izuku. His face was red and sweat was trickling down his forehead. Izuku's eyes were travelling down, and he couldn't help but notice how satisfied the both of them seemed.

Katsuki pulled out, making Shouto whimper – something Izuku had never heard before either – and instead leaned over to press his lips against Izuku's.

'Feeling better?' Katsuki asked, panting softly.

Izuku nodded. 'Yeah.'

Several thoughts were crossing Izuku's mind, but he was sure Katsuki would never let him.

'Never let you do what?' Katsuki asked as Shouto shifted in Izuku's lap.

Heat rushed to Izuku's face, even though with how hot he felt it was barely noticeable.

'I..,' Izuku started. He took in a deep breath. All of his reservations of this being awkward had gone out of the window as soon as all of them had undressed. If Izuku wanted to try something, it would be now or never.

'I want to top you,' he spoke up, confidence thick in his voice.

Katsuki's eyebrows raised nearly to his hairline, but soon came down, followed by a smirk. 'Is that so?' he challenged. Izuku knew Katsuki was trying to lure him in, trying to make his confidence falter and not ending up getting what he want, but Izuku was not playing that game. Not this time.

'Yeah. Let me top you.'

Again, confidence was heavy in his words. Izuku had no intent to back down. He had tried to top Shouto less than a handful of times, every time being too taken aback by his own nerves to actually perform well, but so far, Katsuki had never let him.

He had proposed it maybe once or twice, but somehow it always ended up with Izuku being the bottom again, being lost in ecstasy as Katsuki pounded into him and forgetting about the inquiry altogether.

Katsuki smirked, laying down on the mattress, his hands hooked behind his knees as he pulled them up, revealing his pink hole. 'So this is what you want to wreck?' Katsuki teased again.

Izuku's mouth started watering at the sight before him. With the way Shouto was looking, Izuku only imagined that the other guy was doomed to be nothing but a bottom in Katsuki's presence as well.

'Yeah, it is,' Izuku said as he crawled over, placing himself between Katsuki's legs.

The smirk on his face faltered.

'Please let me,' Izuku added.

Katsuki's eyebrows were drawing together and the hold on his legs were faltering. 'No fucking way, that shit hurts,' Katsuki snapped, no real heat behind his words.

Izuku lifted his hand, cupping Katsuki's face and pressing a gentle kiss against his lips. 'Only a little, and then it'll feel great.'

Worry-filled eyes flickered over to Shouto.

'You know the safe word,' Izuku pressed on.

Katsuki gulped. 'If it fucking hurts, I'll kill you,' he responded through grit teeth.

Izuku reached under Katsuki's leg, retrieving the bottle of lube that had fallen to the floor. Covering his fingers in a good amount of the substance, Izuku pressed his index finger against Katsuki's unused hole, making the blond hiss as he pushed in further.

'Swing your leg over my shoulder, it'll be easier,' Izuku ordered. There was some doubt in Katsuki's eyes, but the blond complied, hooking his leg over Izuku's shoulder.

Adding his middle finger, Izuku spread Katsuki's hole open, making Katsuki groan and throw his head back. The pleasure filled look on Katsuki's face was one Izuku had never seen before. Making use of the opportunity, Shouto came up to Katsuki's head.

'Is this okay?' Shouto asked.

Katsuki squeezed his eyes shut and then nodded, letting his jaw fall slack as Shouto lined up. Watching as Shouto buried his cock into Katsuki's mouth, Izuku worked faster and added two more fingers, making Katsuki's face twist painfully.

Izuku stroked his cock a couple of times before lining up, the tip of his cock catching on Katsuki's rim and pressing forward. Katsuki's eyes widened, unable to give a vocal response as Izuku snapped his hips forward.

Izuku was unable to hold back as he was fulfilling his wildest fantasies, setting a rough pace that made Katsuki tear up. Noticing that Katsuki was struggling, Izuku had to remind himself it was his first time, so he slowed down to a more bearable, steady pace.

Shouto was pushing forward as well, his mouth agape and eyes closed, soft moans escaping his mouth as he was busy face-fucking Katsuki.

Izuku's thrusts became more uncontrolled as he went on. Not being able to hear Katsuki curse, Izuku just hoped he was hitting the right spots.

He could feel he was on the verge of an orgasm again. As Izuku pounded into Katsuki once more, his insides cramped up, clamping down on Izuku's cock as he came in short bursts, covering his own chest with white hot cum.

The feeling of an orgasm from the inside pushed Izuku over the edge, making him come as well inside of Katsuki.

Izuku crashed down on Katsuki's chest, breathing heavily, seeing Shouto pull out from the corner of his eye and coming over Katsuki's face before crashing on top of the both of them. They laid there, all gasping and panting in a heap of sweat, cum and lube. Izuku was slightly amazed at how natural all of it had felt.

There's just one more thing he'd like to try out, but right now, he was exhausted. Shouto rolled off of him and it gave Izuku the opportunity to pull out of Katsuki.

Their bed was small, so they had to shift and scoot over until all three of them could lay down. It was the most awkward moment of the entire evening, despite everything they had done.

After a moment, their breathing evened out, though Izuku still felt entirely hot. It didn't quite help that he was sandwiched between his boyfriends on the tiny bed.

Izuku quickly lost track of how long they had stayed there, mind blank as all he could focus on was the feeling of euphoria taking him to a new high.

His body was slowly cooling down and the stickiness between his legs and on his chest was starting to become uncomfortable. Despite all of that, Izuku wasn't quite satisfied yet.

'Once more?' Izuku suggested, hoping the others were still up for it. He heard groans coming from both sides and Izuku sighed. He supposed he would have to save his idea for another day.

'Well, tell us,' Katsuki prodded, pushing himself up with his elbow to loom over Izuku, hand carding through his damp curls. Izuku raised an eyebrow.

'Are you sure? You seem pretty.. tired,' Izuku said, feeling the drawback of their heavy activities all the way down to his bones.

Katsuki smirked. 'I think we can last a lot longer than you,' he said. Izuku looked over at Shouto, who was smiling at him.

'It's sweet how much you underestimate us,' Shouto said, reaching out to press his lips against Izuku's jawline.

Izuku wanted to pout, to tell them it wasn't true, but it probably was. Even after all this time, Shouto and Katsuki were still the top two of this school with Izuku himself close behind.

'Then.. I want to try a sandwich..' Izuku said hesitantly. He wasn't sure if it was an actual position or if it was even comfortable at all, but the mere thought of being able to fill someone _and_ being filled at the same time was too much for Izuku not to want it.

'Sure,' Shouto said, already pushing himself off. Izuku felt a little anxious as he got up as well, watching as Shouto placed himself on the mattress face up.

Even after already having gone through multiple orgasms, Shouto still seemed eager to continue.

Izuku's hands were trembling as he took hold of his cock, stroking it as it twitched to life. A hand wrapped around his chest and Katsuki's teeth scraped against the crook of Izuku's neck, making him shiver.

'Don't worry too much, you'll do great,' Katsuki breathed into Izuku's ear and it was all the encouragement he needed.

After just having topped Katsuki, Izuku felt a little steadier as he guided his cock to Shouto's hole, pushing in with one swift motion. Izuku was gripping onto the sheets, his knuckles nearly turning white as fingers traced his thighs and settled on his hips.

Feeling the head of Katsuki's cock against his hole made him relax a little, making it easier for Katsuki to enter.

As soon as Izuku could feel Katsuki's cock all the way inside, he started to move. His legs were trembling from exhaustion and his entire body was a mess, but he was intent on finishing and satisfying everyone.

Being inside someone and someone being inside you brought on a whole new feeling of euphoria as the three of them rocked back and forth steadily, Izuku thrusting into Shouto and Katsuki slamming into Izuku.

Shouto reached up and wrapped his arm around Izuku's neck, pulling him in for a kiss, his other groping at his own erection.

Katsuki's hands slowly wandered from their position on Izuku's hips, travelling up chiseled abs all the way to perky nipples, all the while showering him in butterfly kisses on the back of his neck and down between his shoulder blades.

'Feels so good,' Katsuki muttered, finally able to be vocal about his desires past animalistic noises.

Izuku groaned as Katsuki pounded into him, picking up the pace, one that Izuku couldn't quite match.

It felt a bit awkward and unnatural as their rhythm was broken. Shouto was rolling his hips out of time and Izuku felt a bit wobbly, but it felt good nonetheless.

With already having come so many times, reaching his next climax took a little longer, but Izuku didn't mind as he kept moving, a new burst of pleasure coursing through him with every thrust.

Katsuki's thumb flicked over Izuku's nipple, making him moan loudly, his hole clamping up and pushing him further over the edge. He pulled Shouto in for a hungry kiss while Katsuki tugged on his hair, his body shivering as he came.

In that small moment of post-orgasmic bliss, Izuku lost all sights of his surroundings, not noticing it as Shouto and Katsuki both came as well, instinctively rolling his hips backwards as he rode Katsuki through his orgasm.

Katsuki pulled out, wrapping his arms around Izuku's body to help him fall backwards into his lap and off Shouto. All three of them were gasping for air, pleasure and adrenaline coursing through their veins.

'Are you done?' Katsuki asked. Izuku nodded. His throat felt raw and his ass was sore. He didn't think he'd last another round for a whole _week_.

'How about you?' Katsuki asked, looking down at Shouto who was covering his eyes with his arm, breathing rapidly. The dual-user nodded as well.

Katsuki leaned back against the wall, Izuku still wrapped in his arms.

As they were catching their breaths, Izuku thought back about the conversation they had before this. He thought it would've been awkward to figure out dynamics, to decide who went were.

He had almost wanted to plan it out, down to the detail of who would come first, but in the end, when it all happened, everything had come so naturally.

Even if he felt insecure, he would just talk to them. Communication was important after all, especially in new situations like these.

Izuku was absolutely exhausted. If it was his choice, he'd fall asleep right now in Katsuki's arms. Katsuki, however, seemed to have different plans as he pushed Izuku off and got to his feet.

Izuku raised an eyebrow at Shouto, who was looking at him questioningly too, listening to the faucet in the small bathroom turn on and off.

When Katsuki returned, he was holding a couple of damp towels. Izuku and Shouto both gratefully took one, wiping first their faces and their chests before starting to clean up the cum in the other areas.

When they were done, Katsuki helped Izuku over to the other side of the bed to lie down next to Shouto, taking up the place on the other side himself.

By that point, their breathing had evened out and they were slowly coming down from their high.

Izuku snuggled up closer against Shouto's chest, breathing in the rich scent that came off of him.

Izuku knew they wouldn't be able to lie there for very long, having to clean up and take a shower before anything would dry up, but he relished in the moment. He didn't think he could love them more than he already did, didn't think there was a possibility they could still become closer, but he felt so deeply connected to them, it was almost too weird to put into words.

Izuku reached out across Shouto's chest, warm, strong fingers intertwining with his as they rested on Shouto's pecs. He closed his eyes and hummed softly, the arm around his shoulder pulling him in more.

Even if they wouldn't get do to this too often – it was extremely exhausting after all, not to mention that their dorm beds were way too small – Izuku was glad they tried. It made him feel connected in a way he had never felt before and he wouldn't want to have tried this with anyone else for the world.

His mind was slowly becoming hazy, thoughts pooling together until they were indecipherable, but the last thing he could think was how happy he was to have these two guys all for himself.

With a smile on his face, feeling satisfied and content, Izuku fell asleep.


	19. Laughter is the best medicine

Izuku took off his shoes at the door, walking on his socks into the living room.

'Hey,' Shouto greeted him, the boy's gaze not leaving the TV.

'Hey,' Izuku replied, sitting down next to Shouto, sticking his legs under the kotatsu that was occupying most of the living room. A hand reached up to his cheek and turned his face as Shouto kissed him. Izuku giggled slightly as he pulled away as Katsuki came back with a pot of tea in his hands.

'Do you always have to be this sappy,' Katsuki grumbled, though he leaned in for a quick peck on the lips as well before crawling under the heat of the kotatsu.

Izuku gratefully took the cup of tea Katsuki handed him, blowing on it before taking a sip that still burnt his tongue.

'Are you sure your parents don't mind us being here?' Izuku asked. It was close to New Year's after all and most families wanted to spend it together. Katsuki shook his head. 'S fine, they wanted to see the even older hags back home, so they're gone for the week.'

Izuku slowly sipped on his tea, the warmth spreading throughout his chest. 'I'm glad they're fine with it,' Izuku commented, gaze trailing to the TV. It was showing some kind of magical girl anime.

Izuku noticed Katsuki's attention was wavering by the way the blond was playing on his phone, or maybe he just wasn't interested in this type of anime. Izuku didn't care much for it either, more of a fan of the shounen type, but noticed from the corner of his eye that Shouto was watching it intently.

Izuku loved the way Shouto's face would ease out, becoming relaxed and intrigued rather than always wearing a scowl during the moments he could be himself. Izuku leaned over and let his head rest on Shouto's shoulder.

'What did they say when you asked if we could come over?' Izuku asked. He knew that Mitsuki and Masaru were overall fine with his presence; he hadn't been to the Bakugou household for a long time, but that wouldn't change the way they regarded him. Shouto was new, though, so he wonders how brutal the spitfire of questions was when Katsuki mentioned him.

'Nothing. Just told them my boyfriends were coming for New Year's. Shut them right up.'

'Katsuki!' Izuku scowled, pushing himself off as Shouto's attention averted to them.

'What?' the blond snapped back. 'It's true isn't it? I didn't want their annoying questions so I told them I was dating two of you and that's that. Of course, the old hag wouldn't stop firing off questions anyways, but I ignored them.'

Izuku looked down at his cup. He wondered if Katsuki's bold statement and short explanation made them change their minds about him… He supposed not, if they were still allowed to come over.

'And you? Still haven't told your mom?' Katsuki said, side glancing at Izuku.

Izuku started to play with his fingers. 'I… tried.. I guess? I told her I wasn't single anymore. She just started gushing about how happy the girl I was dating must be.' Izuku chuckled nervously. If only his mother knew… 'I'm going to tell her, I promise. After New Year's I'll explain.'

Katsuki huffed and turned back to his phone. 'Why so fucking nervous? You know she'll understand. Even if she doesn't, she'll be happy for you cause you're happy. That's just the way auntie is.' T

he corners of Izuku's mouth started to tug up involuntarily. Katsuki was right, it is the way his mom is.

'I've told my mother.'

Izuku looked back at Shouto, who was smiling as well.

'She was very happy for me.'

Izuku's heart melted at the way Shouto's eyes were crinkled at the corners, happiness written all over his face.

'I'm so glad!' Izuku exclaimed, extending his arms and falling into Shouto's, laughing happily. Shouto was still smiling when Izuku looked up.

Shouto helped Izuku shift until they were both sitting comfortably under the kotatsu, arm around Izuku's waist and head back on Shouto's shoulder. 'I'm not going to tell my father, though,' Shouto added, expression hardening as he looked at Katsuki. Izuku looked between both his boyfriends, wondering if they had ever argued about this before.

Katsuki shrugged. 'That's fine. After what you told me I hate the guy anyways.'

The quickly tensed atmosphere almost disappeared as soon as it had come. It remained silent for a little while as they all turned their attention back to the TV.

After two more episodes of the anime were finished, Katsuki got to his feet. 'I'm gonna make dinner.'

'Do you need help?' Izuku asked, looking over his shoulder as Katsuki already walked away.

Katsuki looked back, smirking. 'Really?' he asked.

Izuku pouted. He knew Katsuki was much better at cooking than him, the blond had proven that quite some times, but it didn't hurt to let Izuku help.

'We'll make something tomorrow,' Shouto said, lips brushing Izuku's cheek. Izuku looked up, the corners of his lips tugging up at the warm smile Shouto was bearing.

As always, it didn't take long before Katsuki was done with dinner. He carried a big pot over to the kotatsu, steam escaping from underneath the lid. The scent made Izuku's mouth water as he sat upright, crossing his legs as he leaned over eagerly.

'It's my own recipe,' Katsuki said, lifting the lid as the room was filled with the scent of spices and vegetables. The hotpot was both traditional as well as unconventional: a big ceramic pot, filled to the brim with all kinds of root vegetables, pieces of meat and dumplings. The broth was a dark red.

'Don't worry,' Katsuki said as he noticed the frown on Izuku's face. 'It's not that spicy.'

Izuku wanted to reach out and dip his fingers in the pot to taste its rich flavors, but waited patiently as Katsuki went back to the kitchen for some bowls. When the blond had finally settled down – even five more seconds was too long for Izuku – Izuku dug in.

The three guys all took turns scooping up the contents into their bowls, eating quietly, the sounds of them chewing the only thing audible.

Katsuki was right, it wasn't that spicy, but it still had a certain bite to it. The sauce burned a little on Izuku's tongue, but it didn't bother him that much.

When he reached out for seconds, he noticed that Shouto was eating so greedily, a small red trail was dripping from the corners of his mouth over his chin. Izuku chuckled.

'Slow down,' he said, reaching out to wipe the mess away.

Shouto looked at Izuku, then back at his bowl and back at Izuku again, a sad expression in his eyes. 'But it's just so good,' Shouto said, sounding a little disappointed that he couldn't eat faster.

From behind him, Izuku heard Katsuki laugh. 'Jeez, I know I can cook, okay? It's very flattering, but don't choke on a dumpling.'

Shouto's face lighted up, his nose scrunching up as he snorted softly. Izuku's mouth fell open, eyes going wide at the sound. Shouto's cheeks were flushing darker as he covered his face with his hands and turned away.

'Did he… did he just snort?' Katsuki asked, sounding taken aback as well. Izuku turned to him, face broken out in the biggest smile his face could uphold.

'Shut up,' Shouto said, voice muffled by his own hands.

'It's adorable!' Izuku exclaimed.

'I don't think I've ever heard you laugh before,' Katsuki remarked, still eyeing the dual-colored hair guy in disbelief.

'It's totally normal!' Shouto exclaimed, turning back to the others, pouting. _Pouting!_ Izuku thought his heart had already grown as big as it could've, but this moment proved that wasn't true.

A hand on the back of his head forced him to look down at his bowl. 'Eat,' Katsuki growled, probably trying to divert the attention from a heavily embarrassed Shouto.

Izuku had trouble keeping the food in his mouth with how big he was smiling, but still managed to eat three full bowls before he complained. 'My stomach hurts,' he whined, letting himself fall back as he crawled further into the kotatsu, the blanket now nearly covering half of his body.

'I told you to stop after the second one,' Katsuki warned.

'Can I have another?' Shouto asked, holding his bowl out.

'Sure,' Katsuki replied.

Izuku whined. 'Why can he have three but I can't!'

'Because if you do you end up like that!' Katsuki said, handing the bowl back to Shouto while gesturing at Izuku that was lying on the ground. Izuku growled softly, curling into himself, clutching his stomach.

Katsuki pushed himself to his feet and picked up the pot. 'You're an idiot,' he exclaimed, glaring down at Izuku, the smallest hint of a smile on his face.

Izuku pouted. 'It's your fault for making it that good.'

Katsuki snickered. He bent down on one knee before leaning forward and pressing his lips against Izuku's forehead. 'Guess it is,' he said, getting back up and carrying the pot to the kitchen.

Izuku rolled over, nose digging into Shouto's thigh. He felt Shouto's hand brush his hair and he leaned into the touch.

Something warm pressed against his nose and Izuku looked up, a dumpling hovering before him. He glanced up, seeing that Shouto was smiling down at him. Izuku opened his mouth and bit down on the dumpling, savoring every taste even though his stomach felt like it was exploding.

Izuku was startled as a pair of hands grabbed his upper arms and hauled him up, making room between Shouto and Izuku. Katsuki sat down between them, wrapping his arms around their shoulders and pulling them close.

Shouto reached out for the remote and changed the channel to some sappy romance movie. They watched, Shouto's and Izuku's heads resting on Katsuki's shoulder, and indulged in their moment together.

* * *

'You're cheating!' Katsuki accused, snatching at Shouto's car-shaped pawn.

Shouto just raised an eyebrow as he looked at the place the pawn had just been. 'I am?' he asked, unsure of his own actions.

Izuku sighed, though chuckled. 'No, you weren't. Kacchan, give him his pawn back.'

'Hell no. He was taking more steps than he was allowed to, that's cheating.'

Izuku stretched out his hand, palm flat and aimed up. 'Give it,' Izuku said sternly.

Katsuki grumbled and handed the silver car back to Izuku, who then proceeded to place it back on the board. 'He wasn't, you just weren't paying attention,' Izuku added.

Katsuki crossed his arms and looked away. 'Fucking hate this game.'

Izuku rolled his eyes and looked over at Shouto, who was counting his money for the fourth time this turn.

'Remind me why we are still playing?' Izuku asked, reaching out to grab the dice. He rolled a perfect double four.

Katsuki, despite acting like he was done playing, moved the dog pawn for him. Izuku muttered to himself as he took the money from his stash and paid the bank to buy the property.

'Because half 'n half here never played board games. Or so he claims,' Katsuki spat. There was no heat behind his words, just frustration from losing. Even Izuku was starting to get tired from the game as he saw the huge pile of money Shouto had acquired in just five turns.

'I haven't,' Shouto replied, sounding quite amused.

'Your turn,' Izuku said, handing the dice to Katsuki. The blond rolled them with such force they flew off the table and underneath the couch.

'Really, Kacchan?' Izuku said, pushing himself to his feet and away from the warmth of the kotatsu. He ducked down and squinted his eyes, trying to make out the small square shaped pieces. He just took a hold of them as a stinging pain shot through his ass.

'Shouto!' Izuku whined, head snapping towards him. The dual-user pretended as if he hadn't done anything, focusing on rearranging his property. The dull ache in Izuku's ass said otherwise.

Izuku crawled over to his spot underneath the kotatsu, handing the dice to Katsuki once again. This time the dice stayed on the table, showing a six and a three.

'That's my property,' Izuku said. He looked at his cards, trying to figure out how much Katsuki was supposed to pay him. 'That'll be ¥8000.'

'Fucking bullshit!' Katsuki exclaimed, though he did pull the right amount of money from his organized row and handed it to him.

'Isn't this the game people always complain about getting angry?' Shouto asked as he rolled, landing on an unowned property and handing Izuku the money to buy it.

Izuku nodded. 'Yeah, some people get really competitive playing it.'

Shouto hummed. 'I can't quite see why.'

'Of course you can't see why,' Katsuki snapped.

'Kacchan!' Izuku reprimanded, glaring at the blond. They had promised not to get too competitive, considering they all had several issues considering just that with each other during their time at UA. Izuku really wasn't in the mood for a Monopoly drama.

'No, I'm done. Do you see this smug bastards face?' Katsuki said through gritted teeth, pointing at Shouto was smiling at all the fake money he had.

Shouto put the paper down and looked up at Katsuki. With his brows raised in amusement, eyes twinkling and the corners of his mouth tugged up, Izuku knew shit was about to go down.

He was sure everything would've gone fine, if all but Shouto saying in the most depreciative tone he had ever heard: 'Well, maybe if you tried a little harder, you wouldn't be losing so bad.'

'That's it!' Katsuki screamed, grabbing the sides of the board and flipping it. All the pieces and cards that were laid on top of it flew through the air as they landed at the other side of the room.

'Are you challenging me, you asshole?' Katsuki said, pushing himself to his feet.

Shouto, still carrying that amusement in his eyes, got to his feet as well. 'Maybe I am,' he replied, not budging even a little as Katsuki's face started to turn red.

Izuku just sighed and laid down on his arms on the kotatsu as he watched the two fight it out. He supposed they were grown enough to figure out on their own that they shouldn't blow up the place.

'Do you think I can't even win a simple board game?' Katsuki snapped.

Shouto smirked. 'Maybe I am. What are you going to do about it?'

Izuku's eyebrows rose as he noticed the change of behavior in Katsuki. The blond's aggressiveness was fake, putting on an act for a reason Izuku couldn't understand.

'How about.. this!' Katsuki said, lurching forward.

Izuku shot upright, scared they might actually try to hurt each other. Images of their first year's sports festival came flashing back to him.

Shouto was thrown to the ground and Izuku quickly made his way over, stopping in his tracks as he heard the dual-user laugh. It was surreal, almost magical as the sound of Shouto's laughter filled the room.

Izuku inched his way closer and saw Katsuki sitting on top of Shouto, hands moving all over the dual-user's body. They were having a tickle war, and Shouto was losing.

'S-stop!' Shouto wheezed, tears streaming down his face.

'Not a chance,' Katsuki said, grinning from ear to ear.

'What do you think, nerd? Give him some mercy?' Katsuki looked up at Izuku, eyes sparkling as well.

The sound of Shouto's laughter was too beautiful, too rare to give up so quickly, so Izuku shook his head.

'That's what I thought,' Katsuki smirked.

'Whyyy,' Shouto whined between fits of laughter.

'Because it's fun,' Katsuki said. The blond was only paying attention to Shouto, not noticing it as Izuku pummeled into him and overtook the position as tickle monster.

'What the fu-,' Katsuki exclaimed, trying to keep his laughter in as Izuku started tickling him.

'Cut it out!' Katsuki tried to snap, but his words sounded too happy, broken off as he hiccupped and laughed.

'No,' Izuku said sweetly. 'I like the sound of your laughter and I don't hear it nearly enough.'

Izuku looked aside, watching as Shouto propped himself up, his hair disheveled and face wet with tears. Nonetheless, he was still smiling.

'The sound of his laughter does sound really good,' Shouto commented, wiping at his cheeks.

'So.. does.. yours,' Katsuki managed to say, pushing and pulling at Izuku's limbs, but with Izuku's weight on top of him, Katsuki had nowhere to go.

'It does?' Shouto asked.

Izuku nodded.

Shouto looked down at himself, then up at Katsuki and Izuku. His smile turned slightly mischievous again as he was eyeing Izuku. 'Well, I like the sound of yours too,' Shouto said.

Izuku's hands stopped. Without Shouto even moving, Izuku knew what was coming. However, he hadn't expected it to come from beneath him as two hands grabbed onto his wrists and pulled on them until he rolled over, Katsuki now taking the high ground.

'Guess we'll have to hear it then,' Katsuki said, his face still flushed from when Izuku had been busy with him.

Hands roamed over Izuku's body as he burst out laughing, tears quickly gathering at the corners of his eyes. His stomach hurt as he wanted to double over, laughter uncontrollably bubbling out of his chest.

'Who wins this game now?' Katsuki said.

Izuku panted heavily, trying to catch his breath as a tear rolled down his cheek.

'I think we all won,' Shouto said, grabbing Katsuki's waist and pulling him off Izuku as they both rolled to the ground. Katsuki latched onto Izuku's wrist, pulling him along as they laid there on the floor, all of them laughing softly.

Izuku didn't know if it was because of all the serotonin his brain was making in response to the tickling, or because they were together, but Izuku couldn't think of a better moment they had spent together than today, and couldn't wait for the rest of their time together.


	20. For Eternity

**3 years later**

'I'm home!' Izuku called as he kicked off his boots, the scent of a freshly cooked dinner flowing into his nostrils, making his mouth water. 'Welcome home,' two voices called out to him. Izuku smiled as he moved further into the apartment.

'How was work?' Katsuki asked, turning away from the pot he was stirring to let Izuku kiss him.

Izuku sighed. 'Same as always.' His muscles were still sore from the villain attack this morning, but he didn't really mind; saving lives was worth all this pain.

'Dinner will be ready in fifteen.'

Izuku hummed. 'Thank you.'

Izuku headed for the bedroom, quickly changing out of his clothes and throwing them in the hamper before putting on some sweats and a shirt.

Sauntering back into the living room, Izuku walked around the couch and plopped down right into Shouto's arms. The man grunted, but wrapped his arms around Izuku anyways.

'Rough day?' Shouto asked as Izuku looked up, stealing a kiss from his other boyfriend.

'Not much different than usual,' Izuku replied, nuzzling into the crook of Shouto's neck. The couple scrapes and bruises he suffered were more than worth coming home.

'I saw it on the news,' Shouto said, gaze focusing back on the TV screen.

Izuku grunted. Normally he didn't mind seeing his face broadcasted on national television, but today the cameras had captured him on a particular blunder he couldn't easily recover from now.

'Good job on rescuing those people,' Shouto said, pressing a kiss against Izuku's cheek.

Izuku stuck out his lower lip. He knew Shouto was referring to the fact he not-so-casually ripped his pants in the process of evacuating the people in the affected area, but was kind enough not to mention it. However, Izuku had seen his fair share of pictures online already on the commute home.

'Dinner is ready,' Katsuki called, and both boys got up off the couch in unison before placing themselves around the dinner table.

Izuku's mouth watered as the scents got stronger when Katsuki placed the pots on the table. A plate was filled with glistening yakitori, accompanied with a huge pot of rice and several side dishes such as fried tempura and dumplings.

'Looks good!' Izuku commented, reaching out to scoop up some of the rice into his bowl.

'It better,' Katsuki grunted, sitting down as he put down the last plate.

'He's been working on it all afternoon, y'know,' Shouto commented, popping a steaming hot dumpling into his mouth.

The tips of Katsuki's ears turned pink as he snatched a piece of fried lotus root from one of the plates, stuffing his mouth full and chomping angrily. Yet, he wasn't denying it.

Izuku smiled softly. He liked how after all this time, Katsuki still gave his all when it came to caring for his lovers.

Truth was, life hadn't been easy after graduation. Next to the fact they dealt with a lot of stigma from the outside world considering their "strange" relationship, the fact all three of them had gone Pro almost instantly after graduating left them with little to no time to spend together. Moments like these were rare, but treasured immensely by all of them.

Between chewing and biting down, a soft conversation was held, asking about Izuku's day and Izuku asking about theirs in return. Katsuki's and Shouto's day off had been pretty quiet, most of their time spent cleaning the apartment and going out for groceries before relaxing and taking their well needed rest.

Izuku's next day off was the day after tomorrow and, much to his delight, both Shouto and Katsuki seemed to work the morning shift, so they could spend all afternoon and evening together, indulging in each other.

'We can spend that time to finally clean up the storage room,' Katsuki suggested.

Izuku pouted. 'It's my first day off in two weeks and you want me to spend it cleaning?' he huffed.

'It's a mess,' Katsuki commented, reaching out for a third serving of dumplings.

'We don't use it anyway,' Izuku retaliated.

Shouto sighed and put down his bowl. 'We'll clean it some other time. I'm not feeling it either.'

Izuku gave Katsuki a smug smile, boasting with his victory. Katsuki drew his eyebrows together, seemingly unhappy with the tie breaker not being in his favor.

The storage room was just that: a storage room. It held all the items, neatly wrapped and boxed away, that didn't fit in their apartment.

A big part of it consisted of Izuku's as well as Katsuki's All Might figurine and memorabilia collection. The day they moved into the place had been a big moment of shock for Shouto as he came to realize how big of an All Might fanboy both his boyfriends were.

The change from his traditional Japanese style home to a Western style apartment hadn't really been easy on the dual-user either; Katsuki and Izuku found Shouto sleeping on the floor more than once after the first week they had moved in.

The decision to move in hadn't been hard; it came up in conversation one night right before their graduation and all of them had instantly agreed. Finding a place that satisfied all three of them was a completely different challenge.

They had to go through several realtors and a wide array of apartments and houses before settling on the one that was just right. It had two bedrooms, one big bathroom, a huge open kitchen and a wide living room with glass panes giving them a view over the city.

Decorating the place had also brought up some discussions. Izuku had suggested to line everything – and then he meant literally _everything_ – with All Might themed merch. That idea was shot down quickly.

Shouto's idea of a home wasn't very homey to the others, so after some convincing, the dual-user gave up on that.

Somehow, the task of decorating their shared apartment had been left to Katsuki. In the end it turned out to be a perfect mixture of all their styles and comfort. Izuku still wondered where the blond had found a bed big enough for all three of them.

Katsuki got up off his seat, gathering some of the plates and bowls as he headed back to the kitchen. Izuku pushed himself to his feet as well, helping Katsuki in clearing the table.

As Katsuki took the plates Izuku held out for him and lined them up in the dishwasher, he spoke up. 'Ochako called today.'

Izuku tilted his head to the side. 'Oh? What did she call for.'

Katsuki turned around to wipe his hands on a dish towel hanging on the side. 'Something about the venue being booked.'

A rush of excitement coursed through Izuku's body. 'Really!?' he squeaked.

Katsuki looked over his shoulder, a small smile on his lips. 'She also mentioned something about "I'd better be your maid of honor or else…"'

Izuku didn't even pay attention to the empty threat, turning around to Shouto with a glimmer in his eyes. 'We're gonna get married!' he exclaimed, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Shouto smiled softly as he handed Katsuki the empty pot. 'Yes, I know, that's why we proposed.'

Ah, yes. The proposal. That had been one hell of a mess. Apparently after living together for nearly two years and having such a close connection as they had, it was common their thoughts aligned. However, Izuku would've never thought their thoughts would align on something like this.

It was the summer of last year and they all had a week off for their vacation. A week wasn't very long to go anywhere, so they had chosen to go on a trip to Disney Tokyo. Cheesy and overdone, but it still excited all of them just the same.

Once their plans had been made, Izuku had decided on proposing in front of the castle. It was extremely cliché, but he couldn't think of a better opportunity than this one.

Picking out rings hadn't been easy, so he had asked Ochako to go pick them out with him. They eventually settled on a simple thin golden band for Katsuki and the same one in white gold for Shouto. Inside, Izuku's name was engraved. It had only taken him one phone call to the park to ensure that someone would be there to film the moment.

The expected day had crept closer and closer, making Izuku jittery and nervous. Both of his boyfriends had made remarks on the way to the park, but he had waved them off, saying it was simply excitement for going to Disneyland.

The sun shone that day, basking them in warmth. The plaza in front of the castle was pretty crowded, but nonetheless they had found a spot right in the center to gather.

When Shouto and Katsuki were busy looking at the map to decide where to go next, Izuku had gone down on one knee, carrying two small black boxes. As soon as both of the boys noticed him sitting on the floor, their faces changed.

Fear had erupted in Izuku's heart, the face of pure anger and amusement opposite him, sure that they were rejections. His lower lip had already started trembling as Shouto burst out in laughter and conjured up two boxes of his own.

When Katsuki's eyes fell upon the four boxes around him, his face had turned red, cursing before reaching into his own pockets and taking out _another_ two boxes.

Heat had rushed to Izuku's cheeks as he had gotten to his feet, fear and anxiety quickly turning into relief and joy. The person sent by the park to capture the moment just stood there, camera shaking as he laughed at the triple proposal.

Izuku looked at his hand, two thin rings on his ring finger. The one Shouto had gotten him was speckled with tiny diamonds, making it glimmer in the sunlight. Katsuki's had just been like the one he had sought out for the blond: simple, yet perfect.

To this day, everyone in their friend group jokes about their failure of a proposal, but Izuku didn't regard it as a failure: he got two yes's, what about that was bad?

'Oh God, we're gonna have to pick everything,' Izuku muttered, hand brought to his chin as he walked back into the living room, taking a seat on the couch again.

'Flowers, food, suits. _Suits_. Shouto,' he whined, looking as the dual-user followed and sat down next to him, pulling the smaller boy into his arms. 'You gotta help me pick out a suit! My fashion sense sucks!'

Shouto snickered. 'Yeah, it does.'

' _Shouto!'_

'Please stop freaking out,' Katsuki said, sitting down on the opposite end of the couch with a grunt. 'It's not even a real marriage.'

Izuku's mood soured with Katsuki's words. 'I regard it as a real marriage,' Izuku said, feeling a bit offended.

Katsuki rolled his eyes. 'What I meant is, our marriage is not a traditional marriage – or even recognized by law – so that means we don't have to abide by the rules. If you wanna keep it simple, that's okay too. I don't need all that shit.'

Izuku snuggled closer against Shouto's chest. 'But if I don't want to keep it simple? Then what?' he challenged.

One side of Katsuki's mouth quirked up. 'Then we'll have the fucking wedding of your dreams.'

Izuku's heart started beating faster again. He could already see the venue lined with drapes, tables with magnificent center pieces and suits that would all differ, but match at the same time. It would be perfect.

Izuku sighed with contentment. 'Then we'll finally be together forever.'

Shouto shifted underneath him, wrapping his arms around Izuku's chest tighter. A playful voice breathed into Izuku's ear. 'Are you saying we aren't already?'

Izuku's face became flush as he realized what he had just said. 'Of course we are!' he sputtered, flailing to get out of Shouto's grasp, but the dual-user wouldn't relent.

'A ceremony like that is just for fun. It doesn't really mean anything,' Katsuki spoke up, inching across the couch to fall into Izuku's embrace. He huffed as the air was knocked out of his lungs.

'These rings are pretty and all,' Katsuki continued, intertwining his left hand with Izuku's and his right with Shouto's. 'But I much rather experience your commitment than hear you say it.'

Izuku gulped. Of course, everything Katsuki said was true – as always – but that didn't take away the fact Izuku wanted a wedding. He had always dreamt of one since he was a little boy, though he had imagined it with a girl in a big white dress instead of two guys no less. Still, Izuku took solace in his words.

'For me, a wedding isn't just for show,' Izuku said, leaning forward to brush his lips against the top of Katsuki's head. 'It's a way to show my love for you. To be connected for eternity to you. That's what it means to me.' Izuku looked up, Shouto already coming down to lock their lips together.

'Then that's what we'll do,' Shouto said.

'At least I can help with the food,' Katsuki offered.

'And I'll help with the suits,' Shouto added.

Izuku closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Sandwiched between both his lovers with a wedding in sight, he didn't think he could ever be happier.

'And even if everything fails that day, we'll be together. For eternity,' Katsuki said.

'For eternity,' Shouto echoed.

Izuku hummed, opening his eyes, looking down at the blond, Shouto's arm wrapped tightly around his waist. 'For eternity.'

And he wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

That's it folks, end of story. I want to thank you for being there with me as I went on this journey and for encouraging me. It really made me happy. As for , I won't be uploading to this website anymore due to various reasons. However, I go under the same name at archiveofourown where I will continue posting. Hope to see you there and again, thank you for reading ^^


End file.
